ET has learnt that Parong, a remote hamlet in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang district, has been earmarked as the likely site for this ambitious 465-m high project, with drilling machines for pre-feasibility studies expected to arrive at the location next month.
According to an Arunachal government officer, alternative sites further upstream, Dite Dime and Ugeng, are currently off the table, leaving Parong as the only location slated for drilling operations. “Site pre-feasibility studies may take about a month,” he said.
“It’s confirmed China is constructing a 60,000 MW hydropower project near the Great Bend, where the river takes a dramatic U-turn,” said another official of chief engineer rank.
“This is where the river (Yarlung Zangbo) takes a dramatic U-turn before flowing into Arunachal Pradesh. As the estimated storage capacity of the dam in China is 5.5 bcm, as against 9.2 bcm of ours, even if China releases its entire volume—a ‘water bomb,’ so to speak—our dam will have the capacity to absorb that much water,” said the official.He explained the river drops some 3 km at the Great Bend before gushing into Arunachal Pradesh, giving China a natural advantage to generate significantly more electricity compared with the 11,000 MW capacity of the proposed Indian dam.
Once the project, officially named Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, gets underway, vast swathes of land across more than 30 villages, including Parong, Sitang, Riga, Geku and Dite Dime, will be submerged, necessitating the relocation of displaced residents to alternative sites on hilltops. What’s more, the entire region where both dams are set to be located, lies within a highly seismic zone.
“Sections of the existing road along the Siang River, which winds its way up to the strategically important Tuting Advanced Landing Ground, will also be submerged due to the dam,” a state official said. “To address this, a new road at a much higher elevation is being planned.” In Parong, a hilltop village of 125 families, resistance to the proposed dam is strong, even as government officials are trying to woo reluctant locals. “We’re not just opposing the dam, we-’re against any feasibility studies being conducted here,” said Tato Pabin, a prominent leader from Parong. “Our orange farms, which thrive in low-lying areas along the river, will be completely wiped out.”
Tatung Jamoh, a resident of Beging on the opposite bank of the river, highlighted the stakes involved, noting that each family in the area earns `2-5 lakh annually from orange farming — a key reason for the unease surrounding the proposed dam.
“We are not opposed to feasibility studies,” he said. “But when the government finds the dam viable and conducts public hearings, our stance will depend on its proposed dam height, our estimated losses and the compensation package offered.
