The Water Data Podcast
The Water Data Podcast
WELL Labs
The Deep Politics of Canal Irrigation in India with Peter Mollinga
1 hour 6 minutes Posted Jun 11, 2026 at 1:30 pm.
Introduction
Welcome to the Water Data Podcast
Peter's Mollinga Introduction
Peter Mollinga’s Journey
How Infrastructure Embeds Politics
Why Peter Mollinga chose India & the Tungabhadra canal
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Protective Irrigation, Colonial Famine Relief & the Tungabhadra
Duty of water in canal irrigation
Green Revolution & the "Temporary" Paddy That Stayed Forever
Water conflicts, tail-end deprivation & changing livelihood strategies
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Andhra Migrants, Land Transfers & Who Really Got the Water
Irrigation engineers and Water distribution struggles
Why India Keeps Building the Same Failing Canals
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Participatory Irrigation: The Reform That Almost Worked
Power Sharing & Why Bureaucracy Always Wins
Youth, Employment & the Future of Canal Reform
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Show notes
Why do canal irrigation systems repeatedly produce head-tail inequality? Why do some farmers receive reliable water while others are systematically deprived for decades? In this episode, Veena Srinivasan speaks with Professor Peter Mollinga, a leading scholar of irrigation and water governance, about the politics of canal irrigation systems in India. Drawing from nearly 40 years of research on the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal in Karnataka, the conversation explores the origins of “protective i...