Itanagar, The SUMP Affected Area Youth Association has called for a shutdown in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh on November 2 to protest the arrests of those agitating against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project .
In a letter addressed to the BBWS president, SAAYA said its emergency executive meeting, attended by representatives of the affected villages on October 29, unanimously resolved to launch the shutdown in coordination with the Siang Indigenous Farmer Forum , other community-based organisations, youth groups and affected residents. SAAYA wrote a letter to Bogum Bokang Welfare Society , which represents the Bogum Bokang-Tuting area, urging it to extend its support to the shutdown.
The association said the proposed shutdown was intended to protest the arrests of people participating in the movement against the alleged forced survey and deployment of central armed police forces in the project-affected areas.
The association called for unity among organisations and residents of the Siang region, reiterating its commitment to a peaceful and democratic movement. The project, envisioned as one of India’s largest hydropower initiatives, has faced sustained opposition from sections of the indigenous Adi community, particularly residents of the proposed project-affected areas. The opposition stems primarily from apprehensions over the submergence of ancestral villages, displacement, loss of agricultural land and forests, and the possible disruption of the community’s traditional way of life.
Describing the agitation as a struggle to protect ancestral land, the Siang River and the future of coming generations, SAAYA said the issue was also closely linked to the preservation of the identity of the Adi community.
