Going with the flow: Water resources and agrarian livelihoods in peri-urban Bangalore

Abstract

The talk presents salient findings from an ongoing study on the impact of Bangalore's urbanization on water resources and livelihoods in the peri-urban areas. We look specifically at the transformation that villages along the Vrishabhavathi and Suvarnamukhi rivers in the outskirts of the city have undergone over the last twenty years. Predictably, the region as a whole witnessed a shift towards non-agricultural and city based employment during the period. The experience of Suvarnamukhi villages was no exception, even as there was no drastic decline in irrigation water. However, Vrishabhavathi villages defied this trend. We look at the reasons and implications for water management in the region. We also offer pointers for theorizing agrarian transformation and rural-urban dynamics.

About Bejoy K Thomas

Bejoy K Thomas is a fellow at Centre for Environment and Development, ATREE, Bangalore. His academic background is in interdisciplinary social sciences with a PhD in Development Studies from Tilburg University, The Netherlands (2009). Currently he is involved with a multidisciplinary research initiative on water resources in urbanizing areas, with particular focus on peri-urban and rural areas around Bangalore.