Kathmandu– Nepal has praised India’s ongoing financial and developmental assistance as a foundation stone was laid on Friday for a new school building in Morang district, to be constructed with funding from the Indian government.
The three-story building for Shree Panchayat Secondary School, along with associated facilities, is being built at a cost of NPR 28.10 million under the ‘Nepal-India Development Cooperation’ initiative. The facility is located in Sundarharaicha Municipality, Morang.
The groundbreaking ceremony was jointly led by Panchakarna Rai, Minister of Social Development for Koshi Province; Kedar Prasad Guragain, Mayor of Sundarharaicha Municipality; and Garima Nautiyal, Second Secretary at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu. The event was also attended by local political leaders, government officials, educators, students, and their families.
The project is categorized as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) and is being implemented through the local municipal authority.
Nepalese officials, school administrators, and other community stakeholders expressed deep appreciation for India’s sustained development support. They voiced confidence that the new infrastructure will enhance the quality of education for students and create a more conducive learning environment, contributing to the broader growth of the region’s education sector.
Since 2003, India has undertaken over 573 HICDPs in Nepal, completing 495 of them. Of these, 91 projects are in Koshi Province, including 16 in Morang district alone. Additionally, the Indian government has donated 1,009 ambulances and 300 school buses to healthcare and educational institutions across Nepal. In Koshi Province, 146 ambulances and 48 school buses have been provided, including 21 ambulances and 15 buses in Morang.
India remains Nepal’s largest development partner, focusing its aid on critical infrastructure sectors such as health, education, and connectivity. These initiatives are offered as grants to help accelerate Nepal’s socio-economic development.
Earlier this month, Nepal’s Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli described his recent meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 6th BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok as “extremely fruitful and positive.”
Following the meeting, PM Modi posted on X: “Had a productive meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Bangkok. India attaches immense priority to relations with Nepal. We discussed different aspects of India-Nepal friendship, especially in sectors like energy, connectivity, culture, and digital technology. We also talked about some of the key positive outcomes from this year’s BIMSTEC Summit, especially in areas of disaster management and maritime transport.” (Source: IANS)
