Itanagar| Expressing their dissent against the construction of Etalin Hydroelectric Project, more than 100 undersigned members of Arunachal Pradesh’s Idu Mishmi Community and the neighbouring communities of Dibang Valley sent a solidarity letter of appeal to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and it’s Members with copies being sent to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Ministry of Power (MoP), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and the Government of Arunachal Pradesh. They sent the letter on 26th June, 2020.
They highlighted facts, researches, ancient beliefs and cultural practices of the community as a whole. In their letter, they expressed their belief that the large-scale destruction of forest and wildlife, violates their ancestral Idu Mishmi model of conservation that has so far preserved forests and wildlife and that no amount of compensatory afforestation willsuffice the loss of forest ecosystems. They also stated, that the project goes against their traditional cultural philosophy of interconnectedness with ecology. Researchers have found that the Dibang tigers exist in community-owned forests in densities that are 4.5 times higher than in Protected Areas and the community wants the survival of their Dibang Tigers. Embedded in Idu Mishmi Culture are sustainable traditional practices and conservation of their ancestral land, which is integral to maintaining the tiger population, their identity and spiritual well-being. By shifting the ownership of their ancestral lands, a direct threat is being imposed to their community, forests and wildlife, leaving them vulnerable at the mercy of outsiders. In their letter they also highlighted that the most revered custom of the tribe is their funeral ritual called “Ya” or “Brocha” which traces their lineage to Athu-Popu, an area located in the headwaters of the Talõ river, some kilometres north of the submergence zone of the Etalin project site. Their shamans have sung to them about how the first and most revered Igu (Idu Mishmi Shaman) of their tribe, Sineru, sanctified the forest, rocks and water of the region.
Scientists and Researchers have concluded that the Etalin Hydroelectric Project is not viable in the Dibang valley region in any manner; be it economically, geographically, financially, ecologically or culturally. The tribes living in the area have a variety of reasons to oppose the mega dam’s construction, because it not only threatens their forest ecology and biodiversity, but it threatens the very existence of the tribe.
Shreya Kumar @ Samacharline
