Rally in Arunachal Pradesh seeks release of protesters detained for stir against Siang dam

SOCIAL – UNREST

30 OCTOBER 2026

• Members of several youth and social organisations carried out a solidarity rally in Arunachal Pradesh’s capital, Itanagar, demanding the release of people detained for opposing the proposed 11,200-megawatt Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) on the Siang river as a counter to China’s massive hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo.
• The government claims it would minimise the impact of a 60,000-MW project China is building across the border.
• The Yarlung Tsangpo flows into Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang, which meets the Dibang and Lohit to form the Brahmaputra in Assam.
• Protests also spread to Upper Subansir iregion where NHPC is pursuing the proposed 1,605-MW Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project, also called the Menga Dam.