Tadak Nalo has demanded the immediate release of people detained during protests in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang belt, the withdrawal of security forces and medical treatment for those injured, saying dialogue on peace would otherwise “not make sense”.
Nalo alleged that protesters opposing the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) and the pre-feasibility report, or PFR, had faced tear gas, lathi charges and detention. He also alleged that some protesters had been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and that the heavy deployment of military and paramilitary personnel had intimidated indigenous residents. These allegations could not be independently verified from the material provided.
He said the SUMP could displace 1.8 lakh people, a figure he said was greater than the Chakma-Hajong population, and questioned where those displaced would be rehabilitated. Nalo argued that the project would leave Adi residents landless in their own state, while no rehabilitation policy had been made public.
Questioning the need for additional hydropower projects, Nalo said Arunachal Pradesh’s power requirement was 150 to 200 MW annually, while dams with a combined capacity of 1,146 MW were already functioning. He said around six dams were operational in the state and alleged that projects were being imposed despite public opposition.
Nalo also referred to what he described as a statement by ITBP chief Shatrujeet Kapoor that China had entered and captured an area in Arunachal Pradesh in recent months, including the Lemeking-Taksing area. The source material does not include Kapoor’s statement or independently establish the claim. Nalo said the purported assertion conflicted with statements he attributed to Union minister Kiren Rijiju, Rajya Sabha MP Tai Takak, Home Minister Amit Shah and Nacho MLA, who he said had denied a recent Chinese incursion.
He called for greater armed-forces deployment in border areas, immediate initiation of porter and mule tracks, insurance for local porters carrying supplies, and accountability over conditions in Taksing. Nalo said the Arunachal Frontier Tribal Front would take the issues surrounding SUMP and Taksing to the state capital if the government did not alter its approach.
The next focus will be whether the state government responds to the demands on detainees, medical care and force deployment, and whether it addresses Nalo’s call for public consent and rehabilitation details before proceeding with the SUMP.
