[ Marina Dai ]

BOLENG, 29 Sep: Chief Minister Pema Khandu is on a two-day visit to Siang and Upper Siang districts, where he has been propagating the pre-feasibility studies for the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), a mega hydropower project with a proposed capacity of more than 10,000 mw.

His visit comes amid an ongoing confrontation between the state government and sections of the indigenous Adi community, as the state government is pushing for the study, which is slated to be carried out in the last quarter of the year.

On the first day of his visit, Khandu held a meeting with government officials and panchayat leaders in Boleng, with a few members of the public also in attendance.

Khandu had earlier stated that he would hold a dialogue with villagers in Siang and Upper Siang over the proposed project.

In Yingkiong, the official programme lists an interactive meeting with local officers and officials from project-affected villages. However, the programme does not specifically mention a dialogue with the public or villagers.

While Khandu was attending a gathering with government officers and officials at the GHSS auditorium in Boleng, villagers from Riga, Parong and Riew held a 'No PFR, No Armed Forces' protest in Dite Dime, also known as 65 Kilo, a connecting point between Siang and Upper Siang districts.

The villagers said they had expected the chief minister to hold an open public meeting with them.

They said there was no open dialogue with the public, and that the meeting was primarily attended by government officials and panchayat leaders, with a few members of the public present.

Representatives of the Siang Indigenous Farmers' Forum (SIFF) said they wanted an open dialogue with the chief minister. They said that, while the government speaks about dialogue, the meetings taking place are exclusively with officials and government employees.

Khandu travelled to Boleng by helicopter and later proceeded to Yingkiong by helicopter as calls for an open dialogue over the proposed project continued.

A few days before Khandu's visit, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Ojing Tasing, who is also the chairman of the empowered high-level committee on the SUMP, convened his maiden meeting with heads of departments, administrative officers and officers from paramilitary forces at the DC office conference Hall in Yingkiong.

According to villagers in Komkar, Tasing was expected to visit Komkar as well, and villagers were waiting to meet him and have an open dialogue. However, he did not arrive.

Khandu later chaired the first meeting of the empowered high-level committee for the SUMP in Yingkiong.

In a post on X, Khandu said that the committee would coordinate and oversee the preliminary feasibility report (PFR) survey in Siang and Upper Siang.

He said the PFR is the first step towards establishing the facts and assessing the project's basic feasibility and likely implications, and does not amount to final approval or mean that the project will necessarily be built.

Khandu also said that the process should be thorough, transparent and grounded in the realities of the people and their land.

Khandu had earlier stated that he would have a dialogue with the villagers of both Siang and Upper Siang districts.

A villager from Geku said they wanted to hear what Khandu had to say the following day, adding that "all eyes are on him."

Meanwhile, the region continues to be heavily militarised, with several armed forces personnel stationed in the area.