ITANAGAR, 12 Sep: The Adi Students’ Union (AdiSU) on Thursday served a week’s ultimatum to Chief Minister Pema Khandu, following their 25 August memorandum with regard to their four-point demands concerning the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP).
The union stated that the people of all the Adi inhabited areas would launch a democratic movement if the demands are not fulfilled within seven days.
The demands include immediate removal of paramilitary personnel from Siang and Upper Siang districts for SUMP; immediate eviction of the encroachers on government school premises in different parts of Siang district; immediate revocation of the suspension order issued to eight GBs/HGBs by the Siang deputy commissioner; and not carrying out activities for preparing a pre-feasibility report (PFR) for the SUMP “until and unless the villagers of 31 villagesof Siang and Upper Siang districts are convinced.”
On 25 August, the union had served a 15-day ultimatum to the state government to meet its demands in the interest of the people of Siang district.
It stated that the government would be responsible for losses and would have to bear the repercussions if any untoward incident happens during the mass democratic movement.
AdiSU president Jirbo Jamoh said, “The people of Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang are under a challenge and we strongly apprehend that our people are on the verge of ouster by the government, which surely shall compel us all to see again the ugly face of the ancient early situation of the region, and in turn we shall be degraded to untold vagrancy and destitution.”
The AdiSU stated that it has submitted a series of representations to the deputy commissioner of Siang district regarding the “inhuman treatment of the common public of Upper Siang and the Siang districtsby deploying thousands of paramilitary personnel for conducting PFR for the SUMP without proper consultation with the public of the two districts.”
It stated, “Despite the government doing progress in education, the rapid rise of illegal encroachment on government educational institutions’ lands in Boleng, Pangin, Kaying and Pessing gravely infringe upon the infrastructural integrity of the institutions. On the other hand, the agency of the state government, especially the deputy commissioner, is using arbitrary power without following the government norms by issuing suspension order to a number of GBs and HGBs, which is a grave concern for the democratic system of the country. All our repeated prayers and appeals on the above points have failed and the government is repeatedly neglecting our cause.”
This was the union’s second representation to the chief minister.
