Arunachal Pradesh sends security reinforcements after unrest over border dam project

Indian authorities have sent hundreds of additional security personnel to the northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh following violent unrest over a proposed mega-dam near the frontier with Tibet, police officials said.

The unrest escalated last week in the remote Siang Valley, where demonstrators opposing the massive infrastructure initiative fought with law enforcement officers. Protesters hurled rocks and set ablaze both a police facility and an office belonging to the state-run National Hydroelectric Power Corporation. Officers responded by deploying tear gas canisters and arresting at least 21 individuals involved in the clashes.

Arunachal Pradesh police chief S.D. Singh Jamwal told Reuters that security personnel are being reinforced across vulnerable spots to prevent further disruptions to public order.

The flashpoint centers on the planned Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, an 11,200-megawatt hydropower installation overseen by the state energy utility. The region has witnessed periodic demonstrations over the past two years, driven largely by local communities concerned about the environmental and social consequences.

Indigenous residents, particularly members of the Adi tribe, worry that constructing the massive reservoir will destroy their heritage and livelihoods. Gegong Jijong, a representative of the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum, told Reuters that local communities intend to maintain their resistance until the project is abandoned. He warned that the reservoir would fully submerge 27 ancestral settlements and adversely affect another 40 to 50 communities.

New Delhi views the facility as a strategic countermeasure against rival infrastructure works across the border. The Siang River originates in Tibet, where it is called the Yarlung Zangbo. In December 2024, Beijing revealed intentions to construct the planet's largest hydroelectric facility upstream, stoking concerns among Indian policymakers that Beijing could leverage control over downstream water flows.

Arunachal Pradesh remains a contentious territory in relations between the two Asian powers. Beijing claims sovereignty over the area, designating it as Zangnan or southern Tibet, while New Delhi maintains that the state is an inseparable part of India. The state's chief minister has previously termed Beijing's upstream project an existential challenge, pledging that authorities would defend broader national interests while balancing the concerns and rights of local populations in the valley.