Tensions escalated in Arunachal Pradesh’s Siang district on Thursday after the Central Armed Police Forces were deployed near the site of the proposed Siang Upper Multipurpose Project.

The personnel were deployed to ensure that a survey for India’s largest hydroelectric power project on the river Siang could be carried out, a senior police official told Scroll. Residents of the region told Scroll that the personnel have been deployed in Boleng, Beging and Geku in the Siang Valley.

The Siang river flows into Arunachal Pradesh from Tibet, and is the main tributary of the Brahmaputra. The river is the site of the proposed 11,000 MW Siang Upper Multipurpose Project, touted to be India’s largest dam.

Since Tuesday, videos and photographs have emerged showing tents and the movement of security forces.

On Thursday, protests and arguments broke out between officials and residents of the Beging village in Siang district after the personnel were deployed.

“Central forces have been deployed at Geku in Upper Siang,” Tajom Ejing, a resident of Geku village in Upper Siang district, told Scroll. “All the dam-affected people in the area are protesting against the forceful armed personnel deployment. The mega dam should not be constructed over the Siang river.”

Residents of the region have been opposing the project for several years. Members of...