Anti-mega dam protest rocks Arunachal capital
Protesters in Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, are demanding the release of activists detained during demonstrations against a proposed mega dam project. Locals argue the project threatens their land and indigenous identity, while the government frames it as a strategic necessity against Chinese hydropower expansion.
Why it matters
The conflict highlights the tension between national strategic infrastructure development and the rights of indigenous communities in ecologically sensitive border regions.
GUWAHATI Members of several youth and social organisations carried out a solidarity rally in Arunachal Pradesh’s capital, Itanagar, on Thursday (October 29, 2026), demanding the release of people detained for opposing the push for a mega dam as a counter to China’s massive hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo. Also read | Violence marks shutdown against another proposed dam in Arunachal Pradesh https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/arunachal-pradesh/violence-marks-shutdown-against-another-proposed-dam-in-arunachal-pradesh/article71626960.ece More than 30 people were detained after a violent protest in the State’s Siang region on October 23 and 24 against the proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) on the Siang River. Locals say the project would spell disaster for the land and its people, but the government claims it would minimise the impact of a 60,000-MW project China is building across the border.
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