We’d rather die than give up land: Siang villagers on proposed dam project

In Geku, John Panyang and fellow Adi farmers stand firm against the Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, fearing for their land and heritage. The situation escalates as security forces confiscate traditional daos from the villagers, igniting community anger. Ongoing protests disrupt agricultural activities, casting doubt on the imminent paddy harvest as the Adi community prioritizes their fight for their ancestral rights over farming needs.

GEKU: Every morning, John Panyang ties a dao around his waist. The two-foot-long machete, carried in a bamboo or wooden sheath and slung across the shoulder, is an everyday companion for the Adi people of Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang region.

Farmers use it to clear vegetation, cut bamboo and tend their fields. It is also woven into community life and identity — much like the kirpan is for Sikhs.But in villages at the centre of a growing resistance to the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP), it has become a source of tension.Security forces have reportedly seized the traditional implement from villagers in Riga and Pangkang, across Siang river from Geku, following an alleged attack on personnel with a dao. The seizures, carried out as part of heightened security measures against anti-dam protests, have stirred anger in the Adi community.

Many Adi farmers openly defied the order to tend to their fields, especially in Geku — the nerve centre of protest against SUMP.The main reservoir of the proposed mega dam is reportedly planned near Geku village, about 35 km downstream from district headquarters Yingkiong.“We tie the dao around our waist before stepping out of our homes every morning. It is an essential part of our lives. Why should we be stopped from carrying it to our fields?” said Panyang, a farmer living along Siang river in Geku town.

Residents fear the govt’s security offensive is aimed at silencing opposition to the proposed dam and the pre-feasibility survey. Govt sources said NHPC wants to undertake drilling as part of the process of preparing the project’s pre-feasibility report. However, villagers have opposed any drilling in the riverbed, insisting that they do not want a feasibility report on the project.“We will not abandon our settlement. We would rather die here than surrender our land.

If the Chinese dam is the threat, why should our govt build another mega dam in the Siang belt, nearly 300 km from the Line of Actual Control? The govt should explore alternatives closer to the border to counter China’s plans,” Panyang said.Twenty-seven villages across Upper Siang and Siang districts have joined hands to resist the project. The protests, however, have begun to affect the agricultural cycle, with several farmers unable to tend their paddy fields regularly because of demonstrations and meetings to plan further resistance.Along Siang river and its adjoining slopes in the narrow strips between hills, villagers cultivate traditional rice varieties such as ‘Gegong’, ‘Itanagar’, ‘Ngotsum’ and ‘Taker’. The latter is particularly significant among the Adis, who use it to prepare traditional rice beer.The agitation has also affected community festivities. On Sept 1, the Adi community in Geku curtailed its biggest festival, Solung, limiting celebrations to flag-hoisting at Gidii Notko, the traditional festival ground.

The festival is usually celebrated over three to four days.For nearly 1,000 families in Geku, the proposed dam represents a threat to their homes, farmland and ancestral ties. Residents fear that construction upstream or downstream could expose the township to submergence risks arising from water storage or release.Most families in the remote settlement depend on agriculture, with only around 10 to 15 govt employees among its nearly 1,000 households.

Many Adi families have lived on community land in the area for generations. In the 1960s, they moved from their original settlement at Kumku, situated on a hilltop about six kilometres away, to the riverbank to cultivate rice, oranges and vegetables.“We do not want compensation in exchange for losing our homeland. Where will we go, and what will we eat?” asked Oken Boli Panggyeng, a homemaker. “No dam survey, no detailed project report. That is our slogan,” she said, adding that villagers were prepared to prioritise the agitation over the upcoming paddy harvest.

“Harvesting will begin in the first week of Nov. We may lose our paddy, but we do not want to lose our land. If the protests intensify, we may not go for the harvest at all,” she said.