Hundreds marched through Geku town in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday to protest against a mega hydel power project on the eve of a crucial meeting convened by the Prime Minister’s Office to assess its progress.

The proposed Upper Siang Multipurpose Storage Project has faced sustained opposition since December.

The PMO meeting on the “Implementation of the Upper Siang Multipurpose Storage Project (SUMP)” will be chaired by Dr P.K. Mishra, principal secretary to the prime minister, on Tuesday. The Union power secretary is expected to make a presentation covering five broad issues — progress at drilling sites; NHPC’s communication strategy; status of the model village and livelihood programme; status of alternate road; and development of a new township.

However, the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF), which is spearheading the resistance to the 11,000MW project, organised a protest rally and a public meeting to convey ground-level opposition. The Pema Khandu-led state government has backed the project, which is being developed by NHPC. In November, Khandu had claimed the dam would serve as a buffer to the 60,000MW hydel project China is constructing upstream on the Yarlung Tsangpo (Siang river).

Three sites — Parong, Ugeng and Dite Dime — have been shortlisted along the Siang.

Men and women marched through Geku on Monday, umbrellas in hand to beat the heat, shouting slogans such as “NHPC go back,” “Siang dam nahi chahiye,” and “we want justice.” SIFF said this was India’s biggest proposed dam project.

At the public meeting, speakers said the dam would cause massive displacement and damage the region’s biodiversity. “We are not anti-national or anti-dam. But Arunachal needs only 400MW; we already generate 1,200MW. Why do we need more? We urge the PMO to come and feel the public mood,” a speaker said.

He criticised a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the state and a section of residents of Riga village last Friday. “There are over 400 families in Riga, but only 16 signed the MoU — and most are linked to the ruling BJP. The MoU is just for show ahead of Tuesday’s meeting. It doesn’t reflect the village’s will,” he said.

Riga is among 27 villages to be affected. Advocate and rights activist Ebo Mili said representatives from all affected villages participated in the Geku protest. “We remain opposed to the dam and even the pre-feasibility study,” he added.

Alongside the rally, the SIFF Youth Wing submitted a representation to Dr Mishra, articulating their “strong opposition” to SUMP. The letter condemned “deployment of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) for the forceful conduct of pre-feasibility reports” and called the act “unconstitutional.”

“ That we, the Adi people of Siang, do not want to dam our Aane Siang nor be displaced from our motherland. We pray that the project proposal be cancelled and all activities with regards to the project, including the preconstruction-cum-outreach-cum-CSR and deployment of CAPF be immediately ceased. We shall continue protesting until our demand is fulfilled. We pray that our prayers are heard,” the letter said.

On July 9, the North East Human Rights (NEHR), led by Mili, also wrote to the state chief secretary about “human rights violations and widespread opposition from Project Affected Families (PAFs).”