Arunachal's Siang Dam: What's China's Plan and Reality of the India's Project

Amid the protests against the Siang Dam in Arunachal Pradesh, Newsreel Asia spoke to dam activist Katon Moyong, who says he was forced to flee the state after an arrest warrant was issued against him for speaking out against the project. Nearly 69 people, including activists and lawyers, have reportedly been arrested following protests in Pasighat that turned violent. A search warrant has also reportedly been issued against Tongam Rina, senior editor of The Arunachal Times. At the centre of the controversy is the proposed 11,200 MW Upper Siang Multipurpose Project, which is being projected as a strategic countermeasure to China's proposed 60,000 MW hydropower project on the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet, which flows into Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang. But the opposition to the project is not new. People in Arunachal Pradesh have been raising concerns about dams on the Siang for more than four decades. What are the realities of these projects? How will they affect the lives, land and livelihoods of local communities? And how has the narrative around the protests and the people opposing the dam been shaped?