Arunachal East MP from BJP, Tapir Gao on Monday while addressing students of Indira Gandhi Government College (IGGC) at Tezu in Lohit district said Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) will be constructed regardless of the ongoing opposition, saying the dam would become a reality “today or tomorrow”, even if it takes another generation.
“People must understand that this project does not belong to the Arunachal Pradesh government or Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was declared a national project in 2008 by the government led by Dr Manmohan Singh,” he added.
He said minors detained were released. “Whom should the people of Siang dam affected area and the people of Arunachal trust — the Chief Minister or the MP, Minister or his MLAs? Referring to the violence that erupted in Pasighat on October 23 protests, the MP criticised the alleged involvement of students under the banner of ‘Gen Z’ in vandalism and attacks on private properties. Gao said that 92 people were arrested and that more than 100 others would face arrest.
Even if it is not constructed in our generation, the Government of India will build it in the future,” Gao said. There cannot be two contradictory statements from the same Govt!” it said. “The dam will be built anyhow, whether today or tomorrow. Reacting sharply to Gao’s remarks, Adi Ba Kebang United (ABKU), in a letter to Commissioner (East) Amjad Tak on Tuesday, questioned the government’s contradictory positions on the proposed Siang dam. Congress on Tuesday also questioned Union minister Kiren Rijiju over his alleged silence on several key issues concerning the state, including the issue of the proposed dam.
He said that the protests were being driven by individuals harbouring political ambitions rather than genuine opposition from local communities.
