Staff Reporter
DAPORIJO, 28 Oct: The anti-dam movement has seemingly gained ground beyond the Siang valley, as a 12-hour bandh imposed by various organisations demanding cancellation of the proposed construction of the 1,605 MW Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project (SUHP) in Menga reportedly crippled daily life in Upper Subansiri district on Tuesday.
A conglomeration of organisations, including the AllTagin Students’ Union (ATSU), All Upper Subansiri District Students’ Union (AUSDSU), All Taliha Payeng Lable Jaring Students’ Union (ATPLAJASU), Siyum Nacho Limeking Taksing Students’ Union (SINALITASU), and Dumporijo Gusar Giteripa Baririjo Maro Students’ Union (DGGBMSU), declared the 12-hour bandh in the district, demanding that the government cancel the SUHP.
Sources in Daporijo informed that the bandh affected Daporijo township and Taliha area. All business establishments, schools, and shops remained closed. It was also reported that citizens in the township areas of Daporijo and Taliha were cooperative. Vehicles, other than those providing emergency services, were off the road from dawn to dusk.
Upper Subansiri Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar Yadav informed that the 12-hour bandh,enforced from 5 am to around 4:45 pm, ended peacefully.
“In the morning there were tyre-burning incidents in some of the Daporijo township areas, which were immediately doused,” the SP said.
“Other than sloganeering, no incident has been reported so far,” he added.
The district administration declared the bandh illegal on Monday; however, the bandh passed off effectively, crippling normal life without any untoward incidents.
The dam-affected villages have raised concern that the SUHP would displace significant number of villages and trigger demographic changes in the tribal and indigenous areas. They have demanded immediate cancellation of the proposed SUHP.
