INDIA RUSHES RIOT-CONTROL FORCES TO ARUNACHAL AS ANTI-DAM ANGER THREATENS TO DEEPEN BORDERLAND CRISIS
October 27, 2026
ITANAGAR, OCTOBER 27, 2026: The Centre has deployed additional security forces in Arunachal Pradesh following an escalation of protests against the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, a massive hydropower and water-management scheme near the Chinese border. The deployment comes after violent clashes, arson and damage to public property intensified tensions in the Siang Valley, where indigenous communities have demanded that authorities halt preparatory work on the project.
The Union home ministry has dispatched two companies of the Central Reserve Police Force’s Rapid Action Force, comprising approximately 250 personnel, to the violence-affected region. The specialist force has been sent to reinforce existing security deployments as authorities attempt to prevent further confrontations between demonstrators and law-enforcement personnel.
The latest escalation followed a 12-hour bandh called by several local organisations across Upper Siang, Siang and East Siang districts. The protesters demanded the release of detained activists, withdrawal of security personnel and suspension of pre-feasibility activities for the proposed project. At Dite-Dime, demonstrators attempting to breach police barricades clashed with security personnel, and tear gas was used to disperse the crowd. Four women were reportedly injured in the confrontation.
The situation deteriorated further in Pasighat, where a mob allegedly set fire to a police station, an office of the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and several police vehicles. The residences of political leaders were also vandalised. Police reported that around 40 security personnel were injured during the violence, prompting the district administration to impose restrictions on public gatherings in Pasighat, Mebo and Ruksin.
The protests reflect longstanding concerns among indigenous communities about the potential consequences of a project that could affect ancestral land, livelihoods and the environment of the Siang basin. Community organisations have also questioned the presence of central forces during preliminary surveys, arguing that security deployments and arrests have aggravated public resentment rather than resolving the underlying dispute.
The proposed project, with a planned capacity of approximately 11,200 megawatts, has been defended by the Arunachal Pradesh government partly on strategic grounds. Chief Minister Pema Khandu has argued that the scheme could help India respond to concerns about a much larger dam being developed by China upstream on the Yarlung Tsangpo, which flows into India as the Siang and subsequently forms part of the Brahmaputra river system.
The strategic dimension adds complexity to an already sensitive local conflict. While the state government views water storage and management as important considerations in the face of upstream infrastructure developments in China, opponents fear that the project could impose substantial social and environmental costs on communities living closest to the proposed construction sites. Three locations — Parong, Ugeng and Dite-Dime — have reportedly been shortlisted for consideration.
Khandu has invited stakeholders for discussions and reiterated that the project would proceed only with public consensus. He has also condemned the destruction of public property and urged demonstrators to pursue their demands through dialogue. Opposition leaders, meanwhile, have called for an independent inquiry into the police response and the use of tear gas against protesters.
The deployment of additional forces may strengthen the authorities’ immediate capacity to control violence, but it does not resolve the fundamental disagreement over the project. The unfolding crisis presents the government with two parallel challenges: maintaining public order in a strategically sensitive border region and establishing a credible process through which affected communities can express their concerns and participate in decisions about their land and future.
As security arrangements expand, the durability of any settlement will depend not merely on the prevention of further clashes but also on whether sustained dialogue can address the competing demands of national water security, border strategy, environmental protection and indigenous consent.
