Kathmandu, July 26 (IANS) A new college building was inaugurated, and the foundation stone for a school building was laid in two districts of Nepal’s western Sudurpaschim Province on Saturday under a scheme funded by the Indian government, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said on Sunday.
The building of Kedar Surya Multiple Campus in Badikedar Rural Municipality of Doti district, constructed with financial assistance from the Indian government, was jointly inaugurated by Basist Nandan, First Secretary at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, and Bhairav Bahadur Saud, Chairperson of Badikedar Rural Municipality.
The campus, formerly known as Shree Kedar Jyotipunja Multiple Campus, was renamed Kedar Surya Multiple Campus before its inauguration.
The double-storey campus building, featuring seven rooms on each floor along with allied facilities, was constructed under the Indian government’s High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) programme.
The project was implemented through Badikedar Rural Municipality.
Affiliated with Tribhuvan University, Kedar Surya Multiple Campus offers Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) and Bachelor of Business Studies (BBS) programmes.
According to the Embassy, Rural Municipality Chairperson Saud, the campus management, and other stakeholders appreciated the development support provided by the Indian government. They said the new infrastructure would help strengthen educational facilities in the region.
Meanwhile, the foundation stone for a new building at Shree Maheshwar Secondary School in Bhimdatt Municipality of Kanchanpur district was laid on Saturday.
The foundation stone was jointly laid by First Secretary Nandan and Nilam Lekhak Joshi, Deputy Chief of Bhimdatt Municipality, according to the Embassy.
The school building will be constructed with financial assistance of around NPR 19 million from the Indian government under the HICDP programme. The project will be implemented through Bhimdatt Municipality.
According to the Indian Embassy, it is the 11th High Impact Community Development Project being undertaken in Kanchanpur district.
Speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony, Deputy Chief of Municipality Joshi and other local stakeholders appreciated India’s development assistance and said the new infrastructure would help improve the learning environment for students and teachers in the municipality.
The HICDP programme is one of the key components of Nepal-India development cooperation, supporting projects in sectors such as education, health, community infrastructure, and capacity building across Nepal.
Launched in 2003, HICDPs were previously known as Small Development Projects. The initiative supports small-scale infrastructure and community-based projects through local authorities, focusing on priority sectors identified by the Nepal government, including health, education, drinking water, sanitation and drainage, rural electrification, hydropower, and river training.
Since the inception of the HICDP programme, nearly 600 projects have been undertaken by the Indian government across all seven provinces and 74 districts of Nepal, according to the Embassy.
“In addition, the Indian government has gifted 78 ambulances and 40 school buses to institutions working in the health and education sectors of Sudurpaschim Province, including nine ambulances and three school buses in Doti district,” the Embassy said in a statement.
The Embassy said the HICDP programme reflects the continuing development partnership between India and Nepal and supports Nepal’s efforts to improve infrastructure and promote socio-economic development in priority sectors.
–IANS
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