00:00China is building a mega dam on a river that flows into India.
00:04And now India wants to build one of its own in Arunachar Pradesh.
00:08But here's the twist.
00:09A project being pitched as India's answer to China's water power
00:13is facing fierce resistance from people within India, in Arunachar Pradesh.
00:19Why? What's the contention? I'll break that down for you.
00:22The river where the dam is being proposed originates in Tibet,
00:26where it's called the Yarlung Sangpo.
00:27It enters Arunachar Pradesh as the Siam,
00:31becomes the Brahmaputra in Assam and eventually flows into Bangladesh.
00:34In July 2025, China began construction of a hydropower project,
00:40a mega dam as it's called, on the Yarlung Sangpo,
00:43which means in Tibet, with a plant capacity of around 60,000 megawatts.
00:47India is obviously concerned that controlling a major upstream stretch
00:51could give China greater influence over water flows downstream.
00:54They could go ahead and block water supply into India.
00:58But that doesn't mean that Beijing can simply switch off the Brahmaputra.
01:02The actual impact will depend on the dam's design and operations.
01:07How is India choosing to respond?
01:09Because there is still a possibility that China could do what they want.
01:12Well, India's proposed response is the Siam Upper Multipurpose Project.
01:17It's called the Sump for short, with a plant capacity of 11,200 megawatts.
01:23So the government's argument is that a large reservoir could help manage river flows
01:28and strengthen water security.
01:30But the project's ability to counter China's dam remains a question for detailed technical studies.
01:35And there aren't enough details of what really the dam will look like
01:38and how we can counter China on that.
01:40But there are protests.
01:42There's opposition.
01:43The indigenous Adi community fears the project could submerge villages,
01:47destroy farmland and disrupt generations-old ways of life.
01:52Campaigners, largely youngsters from the Gen Z community,
01:55have sited between 27 and around 40 villages at risk,
02:00although the final impact remains uncertain because all of this, like I said, is a proposal.
02:05The immediate flashpoint, though, is the pre-feasibility report,
02:09involving surveys and geological investigations.
02:12The government says this is not approval for construction.
02:15Protesters fear this is the first step towards a project that could permanently transform their valley.
02:21The dispute even escalated into violence.
02:24On October 23rd, an NHPC office and a police station were set on fire in Pasigat.
02:30More than 40 police personnel were reportedly injured,
02:33prompting the deployment of additional security forces as well.
02:37Chief Minister Pema Khandu says no final construction decision has been taken,
02:41has offered dialogue and talks.
03:07But the central question remains,
03:09Can India protect its water security against a potential threat from China
03:13without putting the land and livelihoods of its people at risk?
03:17What's the middle ground here?
03:19Because the Xi'an controversy is no longer just about a dam.
03:22This is about national security.
03:24Also about development and the people, the locals, who could pay the price.
