Editor,
The Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) has faced persistent opposition since 2024 from villagers belonging to the indigenous Adi community across Upper Siang, Siang, and East Siang districts.
The core of the villagers’ opposition centres on the existential threats facing their lives, land, culture, and environment within this fragile Himalayan region. The dam, planned to have a capacity of approximately 11,000-12,000 MW and featuring a massive reservoir, is being projected to completely submerge at least 27 villages, while another 40 to 43 villages would be directly or indirectly affected. This would displace thousands of families.
The aftermath of the Teesta dam collapse in 2023 remains fresh in everyone’s memory. The glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) from South Lhonak Lake surged through the dam, and delays in operating the sluice gates, coupled with a spillway and structural design inadequate to withstand such extreme events, resulted in catastrophic consequences. The dam failed disastrously, releasing its stored water and exacerbating downstream flooding. This disaster affected approximately 88,400 people, left dozens dead or missing, destroyed homes, bridges, and infrastructure, and had repercussions extending into Bangladesh.
Both the Siang dam and the Teesta dam are situated in high-risk zones prone to earthquakes and GLOFs. The Siang project dwarfs Teesta-III in scale: its reservoir is larger in magnitude, and its power capacity is nearly 10 times greater. The Siang river carries 30-40 times more water on average than rivers like the Teesta, with even higher peak flood flows, making any failure far more consequential downstream.
A failure could release 9 BCM of water, causing catastrophic flooding through Arunachal, Assam, and into Bangladesh, and impacting millions of people downstream. Who, then, would be held accountable for such consequences?
In my view, the construction of any dam in a seismically active region requires a careful weighing of the pros and cons, as well as a thorough consideration of all potential consequences. For ultimately, human life must take precedence over all other interests.
Likha Tana