Tensions in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang Valley reached a tipping point today after Katon Moyong, a leading environmental engineer and anti-dam activist from the indigenous Adi tribe, rejected the state government’s invitation for fresh talks on the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
Speaking at a packed press conference at the Arunachal Press Club, Moyong declared that the era of negotiations is over and issued a stark ultimatum to state and central authorities, warning that the indigenous population would protect its ancestral lands at all costs. “The time for discussion on the SUMP has passed,” Moyong said. “Either the entire Adi community will have to be exterminated to build the Siang dam, or there will be no Siang dam.”
Moyong, widely known as the “Abor Man,” stressed that the indigenous resistance is not anti-development. He said the community remains willing to support and construct smaller hydroelectric projects on the Siang River’s tributaries, but drew an unyielding line at any large-scale structural intervention on the main stem of the river, which holds deep cultural and agricultural significance for the Adi people.
He described the resistance as a three-generation-old struggle, tracing it to a flood-control proposal first rejected by his grandfather’s generation in 1979. Moyong also dismissed the government’s strategic justification for the project-citing national security concerns over China’s massive upstream Medog dam in Tibet-as a political tool used to forcibly suppress domestic opposition. He further warned that no organization has the authority to negotiate unless it secures the explicit consent of all 60 affected villages.
The declaration follows weeks of intense unrest in the valley, including Moyong’s recent detention by Delhi Police during protests outside Arunachal Bhavan. While Chief Minister Pema Khandu maintains that the government remains committed to dialogue and will avoid forced displacement, heavy paramilitary deployment and preventive detentions in the valley continue to trigger widespread local anger.
Original Source: https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/arunachal-news/no-siang-dam-unless-adi-community-exterminated-activist-katon-moyong-rejects-arunachal-govts-dialogue-bid
Category: Arunachal News,BreakingNews
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Publish Date: 2026-11-06 16:38:00
