Urbanizing flows : growing water insecurity in peri-urban Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Abstract

The codified and written law applicable to the whole kingdom of Nepal Nani :Term that refers to a younger sister Pani nacalne choi chito halnu parne : Untouchable castes Pani nachalne : Those with whom higher castes were not to share water (to drink or use water offered or touched by them Pani nachalne choi chito halnu naparne : Impure but touchable castes Raikar : It denoted the crown-land or state land until 1950. Since then raikar land denotes an individual's private land. Rajkulos : Royal canals Ropani : Unit of land measurement (1 hectare=19.65 ropani) Samasya : Problems xi Sarkis : Cobblers caste groups Sim : Groundwater spring Tagadhari : Castes wearing of sacred thread Tole : A small settlement within a hamlet Varna :The basic stratification of the caste system, which divides society into four layers: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Sudras.xii Chapter 1 The water has goneFarmers, both men and women, were busy, trying to drain water out of their paddy fields, water logged after an overnight rain. The paddy was not yet ready for harvesting and farmers were worried because the water could damage their crop and reduce the yield. During an interview, it became clear that in the past these fields had been irrigated from a stream-fed canal irrigation system. Over the years, these fields turned into rain-fed fields, making cultivation more difficult for the farmers:Farmer 1 (man): "until the monsoon begins, there is very little water in the stream" [that feeds this canal].Farmer 2 (woman): "nowadays no one needs an irrigation canal; people only need roads. All these fields are going to be covered by houses".Farmer 3 (man): "these new houses and roads often encroach on the canal. It has already been encroached on at many sections".Farmer 2 (woman): "I thought you had also come to see the land to buy it".

Presence of Human Enteric Viruses, Protozoa, and Indicators of Pathogens in the Bagmati River, Nepal

“…The chemical, microbiological, and physical parameters at Sundarijal were within acceptable levels according to the Bagmati Basin Water Management Strategy and Investment Program guideline [ 8 , 9 ]. A previous study conducted in this region reported that these upstream sites of the river are minimally affected by anthropogenic activities [ 37 ].…”

“…Due to an inadequate water supply, untreated water from this river is used by many inhabitants [ 4 , 5 ] for various purposes, including for irrigation [ 6 ], cleaning of freshly harvested crops products [ 7 ], and domestic use [ 8 ]. Moreover, uncontrolled population growth and unplanned urbanization have led to most sewage and solid waste from urban areas directly discharging into rivers [ 9 ]. Therefore, the presence of diverse groups of waterborne pathogens in this river water is likely high [ 10 ].…”

“…The lack of molecular diagnostic laboratories in Nepal means that human enteric viruses are not commonly diagnosed from environmental and clinical samples at the national level. Although several studies have assessed the water quality of the Bagmati River [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 11 , 12 ], few have analyzed the microbiological aspect of water quality with respect to the presence of enteric viruses, protozoa, and bacteria [ 7 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. The available data regarding pathogen contamination in the Bagmati River and its impacts on health and the community are limited.…”

Building the resilience of periurban communities to the impacts of climate change and urbanization

“…Periurban areas are widely growing in importance and geographical spread. There is no uniformly accepted definition of the word “periurban” (Gomes and Hermans, 2018; Singh and Narain, 2020; Shrestha, 2019), but it broadly refers to spaces in transition that combine features of both rural and urban environments. They are located usually at the periphery of cities, providing resources for urban expansion and receiving urban wastes, though scholars caution against purely place - based definitions of periurban, highlighting instead the importance of underlying institutional contexts (Iaquinta and Drescher, 2000; Singh and Narain, 2020).…”

“…The negotiated approach has been tried as one approach to engage communities in dialogue with state agencies, as demonstrated in parts of periurban Kolkatta, India and Khulna, Bangladesh (Gomes et al , 2018; Gomes and Hermans, 2018). Given the diversity and social and economic heterogeneity in periurban settings, however, studies point to the limited relevance of the concept of “community resilience”, critiquing the notion of “community” as a homogenous, monolithic whole (Shrestha, 2019). This is because of the huge diversity and inequality among those who inhabit periurban spaces.…”