India to Rebuild Nepal School Destroyed by Flash Floods

Following the principal's prompt decision to evacuate the school just before catastrophic flash floods swept through the area, India will fund the full reconstruction of a school in Nepal's Nuwakot district.

Naveen Srivastava, India's ambassador to Nepal, met Rajendra Dawadi, the principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur, on Tuesday and praised his prompt action after the floods on August 26.

Srivastava said in a post on X that Dawadi's decision to ring the school bell and evacuate the students prevented a potentially catastrophic event. The raging floodwaters that swept through the Trishuli Valley later carried away the school, which has more than 1,600 students.

Multiple flood warnings prompted principal to evacuate students

Water had already flooded the upstream town of Betrawati, according to several warnings Dawadi received about the rising water levels.

After receiving at least four warnings within a few minutes, he decided to evacuate the students. Later, he witnessed a hostel located approximately 100 metres from the river being submerged by floodwaters.

"I made the decision that I shouldn't wait any longer. Even if the flood was not coming, it was just a matter of losing one day's classes," Dawadi told the BBC.

Students recall narrow escape from floods

The students were moved to a higher area. 

"If we had made the decision 10 minutes later, all of us, including the students and me, would not be able to speak to you today," Dawadi said, reflecting on how narrowly they escaped.

Yunisha, a 16-year-old student, also recalled the close call, saying, 

"I, along with my friends, survived by just 10 seconds." She said the bazaar disappeared before her eyes.

India to fund reconstruction of flood-damaged Nepal school

During Tuesday's meeting, Srivastava communicated India's intention to support the full reconstruction of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School.

The institution has a long history of cooperation between India and Nepal. It was designed by an engineer involved in the development of the Trishuli Hydropower Plant and was first built in the 1950s with aid from India.

The school's current structure was built in 2022 using funding from India's High Impact Community Development Programme (HICDP).

The reconstruction support comes after the floods devastated the same institution that was first built with Indian assistance and later expanded through Indian grant funding.