Early in 2025, the government spent ₹5.90 crore to improve and concrete the banks of the ‘Sem Nala’ (waterlogging drain)—also known as the Nabipur Cut Drain—that runs through Gurdaspur city, aiming to provide relief to the residents. This was necessary because, during the monsoon season, the drain used to wreak havoc on the settlements situated along both its banks. However, a current inspection reveals that despite this substantial expenditure, there is no visible improvement in the drain’s functionality beyond the concreting of its banks. If water levels surge during the monsoon, the drain is certain to cause devastation once again to the people and colonies located along its banks, just as it has in previous years.
What is the History of the Crucial Nabipur Cut Drain?
About 66 years ago, when Gurdaspur city had not yet expanded significantly, the problem of waterlogging (*sem*) was severe in the agricultural fields on the city’s outskirts. Rainwater would accumulate in the fields and fail to drain away, causing farmers’ crops to be ruined year after year. To protect the crops, the government devised a plan to construct a waterlogging drain on the city’s periphery, allowing the accumulated water to flow into it and safeguarding the harvest. Consequently, the drain was constructed in 1960, successfully relieving farmers of the waterlogging issue. However, as Gurdaspur city developed and expanded over time, numerous colonies, houses, and commercial buildings sprang up along both sides of the drain. Today, approximately half of Gurdaspur city’s population resides along the banks of this drain. During the monsoon season, the drain would get choked by proliferating wild vegetation, and the collapse of its banks would cause water to overflow into residential colonies, homes, business establishments, and even hospitals. Once beneficial to farmers, this drain had become a curse for the city’s residents. To address the recurring crisis, the district administration used ₹5.90 crore in government funds to concrete the banks on both sides. Sewage pipes discharging into the drain were sealed, and all unauthorized bridges built over it were demolished to ensure unobstructed water flow. Although this provided temporary relief, the situation has deteriorated again, even as the monsoon season approaches.
Concrete lining had been installed along a 3.5-kilometer stretch of the drain passing through the heart of Gurdaspur city; the drain had been cleaned, and all sewage discharge points had been plugged. However, a current inspection reveals that conditions have largely reverted to their previous state. Significant sections of the concrete lining are damaged, wild vegetation has once again overrun the drain, and residents have resumed discharging sewage from their homes and colonies into it. Numerous bridges still span the drain, and the accumulated vegetation threatens to choke the channel during heavy monsoon rains. This blockage could cause water to overflow into colonies and homes, resulting in extensive damage. The issue persists because only the urban section was concreted, whereas the drain spans a total length of approximately 15 kilometers, stretching from the village of Sirkiyan to beyond the village of Nabipur. Consequently, this drain is set to wreak havoc on the local population once again during the monsoon season.
What the officials say:
The Nabipur Cut Drain—also known as the *Sem Nala* (waterlogging drain)—falls under the jurisdiction of the Drainage Department. Officials state that when the drain was originally constructed, it ran through fields on the city’s outskirts; however, the area on both sides is now densely populated. They noted that in 1991, the then Deputy Commissioner, I.D. Kanwar, had devised a plan to close the drain in light of the changing circumstances and had proposed to the government that a new drain be constructed much further away from the city; however, the plan did not materialize due to political reasons. According to the officials, the drain will be cleaned and repaired as soon as funds become available, though undertaking any work prior to the monsoon is currently difficult.
