Authors : Neha Singh and Neeraj Mishra
Abstract: The usage of pipelines to make water available to people has been widely discussed phenomenon throughout the world. Less argued are the projects which divert tributaries from larger rivers via. small diversion channels for the sake of short-term goals that work around natural waterscape. River Khan is one such smaller stream which accumulates the entire waste of Indore City and has been diverted from its larger stream River Kshipra in the wake of Kumbh Mela, 2016, to keep the larger stream clean. In this context, the study looks into the discrepancies of this project and identifies the political and economic forces involved in the formation of such projects during events like Kumbh Mela. Using the theory of political ecology the paper attempts to understand the complexities surrounding environment and development. It also explores how unequal relations in and among societies affect the natural environment, in terms of government policies and going further how culture depends upon and is influenced by the material conditions of society.
Neha Singh and Neeraj Mishra, 2018. Re-Thinking River Diversion Projects: A Political Ecology Perspective. The Social Sciences, 13: 1026-1036.