Key Points
- Violence late Friday and early Saturday injured around 40 police personnel and damaged public buildings and politicians’ homes
- India says the proposed dam would help manage Brahmaputra water flows while countering China’s hydropower project in Tibet.
- Local opposition centres on fears of displacement and the loss of homes and land.
ISLAMABAD: India’s border region with China remained tense on Sunday as authorities tightened security in northeastern Arunachal Pradesh following violent protests against a proposed mega-dam.
Clashes between protesters and police that erupted on Friday and continued late Saturday left around 40 police personnel injured.
The protests also damaged a police station, offices of the state-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and the homes of elected representatives.
The unrest erupted during demonstrations against the proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.
Authorities imposed restrictions on public gatherings in parts of the state and reinforced security following the violence. However, the latest reports did not establish whether fresh clashes had occurred on Sunday.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu said protesters threw stones at police and vandalised public and private property. Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd.
“The mob destroyed a lot of properties; the police station and the NHPC office were vandalised, several elected representatives’ homes were ransacked,” Khandu told reporters on Saturday.
He urged opponents of the project to raise their concerns through dialogue rather than violence.
“Question us, have dialogue with us, instead of violence,” he said.
The protests followed a shutdown called by organisations opposing the project. Local groups have raised concerns about the potential loss of homes and land, displacement and the consequences of large-scale construction.
The proposed dam has also acquired strategic importance because India was concerned about China’s planned hydropower development upstream in Tibet.
New Delhi says the Indian project would create a vast reservoir to store water and help regulate flows into the Brahmaputra River. Indian officials fear that China’s planned project could affect downstream water flows.
China has said its project will have no “negative impact” downstream.
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, if completed as proposed, would be India’s largest hydropower project.
However, opposition from local communities poses a serious challenge for authorities seeking to advance infrastructure development in the strategically sensitive state.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of longstanding territorial tensions between the two Asian powers.
China claims the entire state of Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India considers the state an integral part of its territory.
Tens of thousands of troops patrol the disputed Himalayan frontier, where disagreements over territorial claims and military movements have periodically heightened tensions.
India’s Foreign Ministry said on Friday that New Delhi and Beijing remained in regular contact to manage border tensions, following remarks by senior Indian border police official Shatrujeet Kapur about “face-offs” between Indian and Chinese forces.
“Both sides continue to use existing diplomatic and military mechanisms to resolve outstanding issues and avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation,” he said.
The latest unrest highlights the challenge facing Indian authorities as they pursue a major hydropower project with strategic significance while confronting local opposition over land, livelihoods and potential displacement.
The government has called for dialogue, but the protests underscore the need to address community concerns as plans for the dam advance.
