At least eight people have been killed after flash floods and mudslides caused by the Siang?as the Tsangpo is known immediately after it enters Indian territory?washed away several houses in Mossing village in the upper Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday evening. Flash floods have also cut off road links in several districts of the frontier state.
Union forest and environment minister Jairam Ramesh had to call off his trip to Pasighat in East Siang district after the overflowing Siang inundated the airfield on Thursday night. Ramesh was scheduled to attend a public consultation on a series of dams that are coming up on the Siang.
The Siang, Subansiri and other rivers in Arunachal Pradesh have been in the news in recent times because of the opposition to the construction of dams on them as part of hydro-electric projects. The 1600-MW Siang lower hydel project and the 2000-MW Subansiri lower hydel project have particularly triggered controversies due to the sheer size of the dams to be made on highly siesmic zones.
Official sources in Itanagar said that the eight persons who were killed in Mossing village under Tuting circle in the upper Siang district, that shares the international boundary with China, were washed away along with their houses. Incessant rain in the upper reaches of the eastern Himalayas has made the Siang, which becomes the Brahmaputra on entering Assam, overflow.
Dozens of houses have also been washed away by flash floods and mudslides in Yingkiong, the hometown of former Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Gegong Apang who is currently in judicial custody after being arrested on August 24 for his alleged involvement in a Rs 1000-cr PDS scam.
In and around Pasighat, the headquarters of East Siang district, authorities have asked people in low-lying areas to shift to temporary camps set up in several schools. A part of the Pasighat airfield has been under water since Thursday evening. Flash floods have also disrupted communication in Changlang district in eastern Arunachal.
Road communication and power supply have been disrupted in both Upper Siang and East Siang districts, while several bridges have been washed away or damaged by the floods. Road communication between Upper Siang and West Siang districts has been also disrupted, reports said.
In East Siang district on the other hand the Pasighat-Pangin road and Pasighat-Mebo roads have been disrupted due to breaches at several places since Thursday. Flash floods have also caused havoc in parts of the capital town of Itanagar and the adjoining commercial hub at Naharlagun.