The latest flashpoint was Daporijo town, located 220km west of Pasighat by road. NHPC equipment, a company vehicle and two police vehicles were damaged during the bandh called by the All Tagin Students' Union (ATSU) and other organisations opposing the Menga dam, which is part of the proposed 1,605MW Subansiri Upper Hydroelectric Project.
Police conducted a flag march in Daporijo and appealed to residents to maintain peace following the violence.
Upper Subansiri Superintendent of Police Pawan Kumar Yadav confirmed that constable-driver Hibu Lasha and a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were injured in the clashes. "Both were shifted to Ziro for treatment," he said.
The bandh began at 5am amid opposition to the proposed Menga dam and an alleged attempt to detain ATSU president Tadak Pakba. Backed by student unions and community groups from the Subansiri basin, the agitation has been driven by concerns that the project could threaten local communities' land, livelihoods and future.
The unrest in Upper Subansiri follows days of violence in the Siang basin, where protesters laid siege to the East Siang district headquarters in Pasighat from Friday night to early Saturday. The demonstrations against the proposed 11,200 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project (SUMP) resulted in widespread arson, vandalism and clashes with security forces.
The project's main reservoir is planned near Geku village, about 35km downstream from Upper Siang district headquarters Yingkiong.
The Siang river flows from Tibet into the ancestral lands of the Adi community, which inhabits Siang, Upper Siang and East Siang districts. Upper Subansiri, meanwhile, is home to the Tagin community. The Adi and Tagin people are closely related.
Tensions continued in Upper Siang, where protesters demanded the release of people arrested in connection with the violence, along with four activists placed under preventive detention. They also called for the withdrawal of central security forces and an immediate halt to the pre-feasibility survey for the proposed project.
Upper Siang Deputy Commissioner Ashok Tajo said the government was examining the cases of those detained, but their release required further approvals. Protesters had set Sunday as the deadline for meeting their demands.
Addressing the demand for the withdrawal of central forces, Tajo said their removal from the affected areas would depend on the restoration of peace.
"We are ready to facilitate talks between the villagers and govt," Tajo said, urging villagers to nominate representatives to begin dialogue.
With protests now affecting both the Siang basin and the Subansiri valley, the dispute over the proposed hydropower projects has intensified, bringing community concerns over land and livelihoods into focus alongside demands for the release of detained protesters, the withdrawal of central forces and a halt to project-related survey work.
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