India plans to construct a massive hydroelectric dam in Arunachal Pradesh as a defensive response to China's upstream Yaxia project in Tibet. The proposed structure would hold water equivalent to four million Olympic swimming pools behind walls reaching 280 meters high. Officials describe the installation as essential for national security rather than electricity generation.
Indigenous Adi communities occupying the potential construction zone have mounted fierce resistance against displacement from ancestral territories. Protesters destroyed survey equipment and blocked government contractors from accessing proposed sites. Thousands gathered at traditional meetings to oppose development that threatens dozens of villages with submersion.
China's facility could generate three times the power output of the Three Gorges complex through five stations on the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Beijing denies intentions to manipulate water flows as a strategic weapon against downstream nations. Indian authorities fear drought creation or sudden flood releases from Chinese water control operations.
Indigenous Adi communities occupying the potential construction zone have mounted fierce resistance against displacement from ancestral territories. Protesters destroyed survey equipment and blocked government contractors from accessing proposed sites. Thousands gathered at traditional meetings to oppose development that threatens dozens of villages with submersion.
China's facility could generate three times the power output of the Three Gorges complex through five stations on the Yarlung Tsangpo River. Beijing denies intentions to manipulate water flows as a strategic weapon against downstream nations. Indian authorities fear drought creation or sudden flood releases from Chinese water control operations.
