Centre dispatches 250 RAF personnel to Arunachal Pradesh as Siang hydropower project protest turns violent

After violence erupted during protests over the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, the Centre on Saturday reportedly dispatched two Rapid Action Force (RAF) companies of the CRPF to Arunachal Pradesh's Pasighat.

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) directed on Saturday that the RAF companies comprising about 250 personnel will be airlifted from Navi Mumbai on board an IAF transport aircraft. The units will reach Pasighat and get deployed by Sunday, officials said, news agency PTI reported. RAF is a special blue-uniform donning anti-riot unit of the Central Reserved Police Force (CRPF)

The northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh has a permanent deployment of about nearly three CRPF battalions, while multiple units have additionally been deployed in the violence-affected areas.

Protests over Siang project

Violence erupted in Arunachal Pradesh on Friday amid protests over the proposed Siang project. A mob reportedly torched the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) office and a police station. Houses of three political leaders, including that of the state BJP chief, in East Siang district were also targeted on Friday night, according to Arunachal Pradesh Police officials.

Chief minister Pema Khandu said the right to peaceful protest was an essential part of democracy, but it was important that demonstrations remained within the bounds of the law and did not result in damage to property or disruption of public order.

He said the incidents in Pasighat were regrettable and called upon all sections of society to maintain peace.

According to a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO), Khandu said a 12-hour bandh in Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts over the power project remained largely peaceful on Friday. But violence erupted in Pasighat after the bandh ended and continued till 3.30 am on Saturday.

While the locals are protesting against the hydropower project, the state government sees the project as a strategic safeguard against China’s massive hydropower development upstream. However, those dwelling along the banks of the river fear displacement, ecological destruction and the loss of ancestral land.

Chief minister Pema Khandu insists that no decision has been taken to construct the dam and that the government is merely exploring its feasibility, but protesters remain unconvinced, arguing that even allowing the initial survey could set the stage for an irreversible transformation of the Siang valley.