Correspondent

PASIGHAT, 27 Sep: The Arunachal Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) said on Sunday that a four-member team of the party, headed by its president Bosiram Siram, will visit the sites for the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) in Siang and Upper Siang districts to understand the ground realities.

However, the date for the visit is not yet fixed.

The team will also meet villagers likely to be affected by the project to hear their grievances and document their views on the proposed mega dam project.

The APCC leaders appealed to all political parties, student bodies, community-based organisations, civil society groups, and village elders of the project-affected areas to join their village-to-village visit programme.

It urged local organisations and affected communities to nominate at least one representative to accompany the APCC team during the field visit.

The APCC's proposed visit to Siang and Upper Siang areas assumes significance in the wake of ongoing row over the proposed 11,000 mw project.

The APCC has urged interested parties and organisations to coordinate with its sub-committee members, Tami Pangu (9402866402), Daniel Gao (8413816760), and Johny Yangfo (9436432186).

It is pertinent to mention that the state government has been making every effort to carry out a pre-feasibility report (PFR) survey for the proposed mega power project in Geku and Komkar village in Upper Siang and Parong village in Siang district. However, the majority of the villagers are vehemently opposing it, stating that the mega dam project, if constructed, would destroy their livelihoods and collapse the natural ecosystems.

Meanwhile, the Jengging Banggo Anti-Dam Committee in a meeting on Saturday decided to boycott visits of ministers and MLAs of the state to their area. Their anger stems "from the fact that the state government is trying to forcibly implement the mega dam project," defying their opposition, and "thereby disregarding customary laws of the Adi tribe," it said.