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Paper short abstract:

This paper focuses on recent efforts to rehabilitate a waterway that flows through Panaji, the capital city of Goa, India. In particular, the paper examines the contestations and collaborations that emerge as diverse constituencies institute urban waterway restoration projects.

Paper long abstract:

Waterway ecologies are central to Panaji, a city in Goa, India located at the intersection of the Mandovi River and the Arabian Sea. Panaji has, in recent years, experienced widespread flooding, causing waterways to overflow and submerging roads in several areas of the city. These occurrences have intensified the focus on the city’s waterways and, in an effort to achieve ecological balance, urban planners, bureaucrats and residents have placed waterways – particularly the Mandovi River and various creeks – at the forefront of urban regeneration initiatives. This paper will focus on recent efforts to rehabilitate a waterway that flows through Panaji and which is seen as critical to the city’s ecological health. In particular, the paper examines the conflicts and collaborations that arise, and the ways in which marginalities are produced or challenged as water based communities initiate and implement waterway restoration projects. By focusing on the multiple framings of waterway restoration and the complexities that emerge, this paper provides a lens through which to understand competing waterbased visions for the city and delivers an insight into how diverse constituencies comprehend and manage their ecological quandary as they (re)imagine the urban future of Panaji.