From Royal Canal to Neglected Canal? Changing Use and Management of a Traditional Canal Irrigation System in Peri-Urban Kathmandu Valley

In this chapter we discuss the changing uses and management of a traditional canal irrigation system against the background of processes of urbanization in Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. Until urbanization of Kathmandu Valley took off in the 1980s, the management of stream-fed canal irrigation systems had been a priority of both state agencies and the population that depended on agriculture-based livelihoods. The name rajkulo (royal canal) given to these systems expresses the historical interests of (royal) state actors in canal maintenance and management. Fed by a stream called Mahadev Khola in Dadhikot, a peri-urban village in Kathmandu Valley, Mahadev Khola Rajkulo is such a traditional canal irrigation system. Using an in-depth case study of this system, we analyse the interlinkages of demographic, socio-environmental, economic and local political dynamics with the changing canal uses and management. More specifically, we discuss how and why various actors became associated with, or dissociated from, canal use and management in recent times, and what these processes mean for water access, rights and security. We reflect on the implications of these changes for canal management and canal-related conflicts, against the background of national urban policies that formally aim to conserve agricultural land in Kathmandu Valley, but stimulate urban expansion in practice.

Management of atypical mucosal lesions from primary endodontic infection

Aim/Case report: We have described here the diagnosis and treatment of two cases involving atypical mucosal lesions originating from primary endodontic infections in young patients. Differential diagnoses were established by clinical and radiographic examinations. In both the cases, a red-colored lesion was observed in the alveolar mucosa, with a soft consistency and a sessile-base without any drainage path in tooth 31 (case 1) and with a sinus tract in tooth 36 (case 2), as confirmed by X-ray. The cleaning and shaping of the root canals were performed, and camphorated paramonochlorofenol (CPMC)-enriched calcium hydroxide paste was used as an intracanal dressing for 6 months, with replacement every 60 days. Conclusion: Based on our experience, we thus conclude that long-term root canal maintenance with CPMC-enriched calcium hydroxide was an effective therapeutic protocol for promoting the healing of atypical mucosal lesions.

States of maintenance: Power, politics, and Egypt’s irrigation infrastructure

Egypt’s irrigation infrastructure comprises a vast network of dams, canals, offtakes, and ditches, which direct water from the Nile throughout the Nile Valley and Delta to millions of farmers who rely on that water to cultivate their land. In this paper, I focus on the vital work of maintenance, which keeps this infrastructure functioning and the water flowing. Yet rather than taking maintenance as an inherent good, I look critically at what exactly is being maintained. I contrast two forms of canal maintenance: first, the work that Egypt’s Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation conducts, mostly during an annual maintenance period; second, the maintenance that farmers conduct on an everyday basis. State-led maintenance, I argue, is as much about reasserting state authority over the irrigation system as it is about fixing problems within the system. The unsung maintenance of irrigation ditches by farmers, on the other hand, is not only about cleaning ditches but also building communal relations among farmers that are key to the delivery of the water on which they depend. Focusing attention on the decision-making processes around maintenance reveals the variegated outcomes of this work and how it maintains not only the material but also social order.

Transferring irrigation management to farmer's associations: Evidence from the Philippines

Irrigation management transfer (IMT) is an important strategy among donors and governments that aims to strengthen farmer control over water and irrigation infrastructure. In this study, we use data from a survey of 68 irrigator associations (IAs) and 1020 farm households in the Philippines to examine the impact of IMT on irrigation association performance and on rice yields. We find that the presence of IMT is associated with an increase in maintenance activities undertaken by irrigation associations. While associations with and without IMT contracts undertake canal maintenance, the frequency of maintenance in IMT IAs is higher. IMT presence is also associated with an increase in farm yields by about 6%; rice production in IMT areas is higher even after we control for various differences amongst rice farmers in IMT and non-IMT areas. Finally, IMT may even give poorer farmers a small boost in terms of rice yields. We speculate that this boost may be a result of improved water delivery and better resolution of conflicts related to illegal use.