Kathmandu: Construction of a new school building in Shailyashikhar Municipality of Darchula district officially began on Monday with the laying of its foundation stone under an India-funded development scheme, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu said.
Basist Nandan, First Secretary at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu, and Bijay Singh Dhami, Mayor of Shailyashikhar Municipality, jointly laid the foundation stone for the construction of a building for Shree Gokuleshwor Secondary School.
The school building will be constructed with financial assistance of approximately NPR 75 million from the Government of India under its High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) programme. The project will be implemented through Shailyashikhar Municipality.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mayor Dhami and other local stakeholders appreciated India’s continued support for Nepal’s development. They expressed confidence that the new school infrastructure would improve the learning environment and educational facilities for students and teachers in the municipality.
India and Nepal have been implementing community development projects across various sectors, including education, health, and public infrastructure, as part of their bilateral development cooperation.
The Indian Embassy said the HICDP programme reflects India’s continued support for Nepal’s development priorities by strengthening local infrastructure and improving public services in communities across the country.
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 Government of Nepal, 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 Government of India across all seven provinces and 74 districts of Nepal, according to the embassy.
(IANS)
