India constructs school building and co-operative promotion center in Nepal

ByLaxman Datt Pant

India constructs school building and co-operative promotion center in Nepal

Complementing the efforts of the Government of Nepal (GoN) in augmenting infrastructure in the fields of education and agricultural marketing, the Government of India (GoI) has constructed two separate infrastructures in Nepal – a school building and a co-operative promotion center. Constructed with the financial assistance of US$671,569 under the Nepal-Bharat Development Cooperation (NBDC), the buildings were inaugurated on March 10 by Indian Embassy officials and representatives of the GoN.

The new building at the Shree Himalaya Secondary School in the Gorkha district of the Gandaki province of Nepal was constructed with the financial assistance of US$371,416.86 from the GoI under the NBDC and was inaugurated on March 10 by Karun Bansal, Head of Administration at the Embassy of India to Nepal. Attending the occasion were representatives of the District Coordination Committee, Gorkha, and the School Management Committee.

The new school building consists of three floors and 18 classrooms, a science lab, and one room each for administration, teachers, and the principal as well as separate sanitation facilities for girls and boys. The project was taken up as a High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP), previously known as a Small Development Project, under an agreement between GoI and GoN. This project was implemented by the District Coordination Committee, Gorkha.

  • Since 2003, India has established over 520 HICDPs in Nepal and has completed 446 projects of which 50 are in the Gandaki province of Nepal including seven in the Gorkha district
  • Four GoI assisted projects are currently at various stages of completion in the Gandaki province
  • India has also gifted 12 ambulances to various health posts and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Gorkha district
  • Under reconstruction grant assistance from the GoI to Nepal, a total of 71 educational institutions are being constructed across eight districts of Nepal that were affected by the 2015 earthquake
  • Of these, seven schools are located in Gorkha, and three have been completed and were inaugurated by Harsh Vardhan Shringla, Foreign Secretary of India, in November last year whereas the construction of the other four schools is ongoing
  • The GoI is also reconstructing 30 hospitals in Gorkha that were affected by the earthquake

Established in 1960 and subsequently upgraded in 2010 to a Secondary School, Shree Himalaya has about 250 students of whom more than 60% are girls. The newly constructed infrastructure of the school is anticipated to boost the learning environment for students.

Meanwhile, the new Co-operative Promotion Center (CPC) building for the District Co-operative Union Limited Lalitpur (DCULL), constructed financial assistance of US$ 300,152 from the GoI under NBDC, was inaugurated by Namgya C. Khampa, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India to Nepal, and Uday Rana, former Minister of State for Finance, Government of Nepal. Present on the occasion were Madhav Dulal, Chairman of the Co-operative Union Limited, Lalitpur and its officials and representatives of the District Coordination Committee.

The new Cooperative building consists of three floors, a multipurpose basement, and a resource center. The first floor is expected to be used for an open market and the second for office use and training activities. Part of the multipurpose basement will also be used for parking. The project was taken up as a HICDP and implemented by the District Coordination Committee, Lalitpur.

  • Since 2003, India has implemented a total of 84 high impact community development projects in the Bagmati province of which nine were in the Lalitpur district
  • India has also gifted 18 ambulances and nine school buses to various health posts, NGOs, and educational institutes in the Lalitpur district
  • Established in 1972, the DCULL has 765 cooperatives as its member societies with memberships of over 350,000
  • In the last two years, India has also trained 59 agriculture scientists, farmers, and agriculture policymakers in Nepal in the areas of organic farming, soil testing, and fertilizer science
  • GoI and GoN are also working towards establishing model veterinary hospitals and laboratories in Nepal

Mandated to lead, support, coordinate and promote the activities of its member cooperatives, DCULL involves itself in developing and strengthening farming communities in the district. The newly constructed CPC is expected to enhance the marketing ability of the cooperatives and their farmer members and to establish a direct link between farmers and consumers. The building is also expected to serve as an information center focusing on the marketing of agricultural produce.