1,600 kids saved, but India-built Nepal school swept away. Will rebuild, vows India

When Rajendra Dawadi, the principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, rang the bell on August 26, and asked the children to evacuate immediately, he ended up saving over 1,600 lives. Just moments before, Dawadi didn't believe the school, built with India's assistance in the 1950s, was at risk.

However, the school building in Nepal's Nuwakot district, like most other things that came in the swelling Trishuli River's way, was swept away. The children were saved, but they don't have a school now.

India has promised help, saying it will rebuild what it first helped build over 75 years ago, and then again in 2022.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, met Rajendra Dawadi and promised support for the reconstruction of the school.

The school building was a three-storey structure built of concrete and stood about 60 metres above the river. The new building was built by India in 2022 as part of its High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs).

Srivastava hailed Dawadi's instant action, stating that "His timely action saved the lives of more than 1,600 school children just before the school was swept away in the Rasuwa flash flood."

In a post on X, the Indian ambassador highlighted the school's longstanding connection with India as Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School was established in 1951 with Indian assistance and designed by an Indian engineer involved in the construction of the Trishuli Hydropower Plant.

Srivastava said the newer school building was constructed in 2022 with a grant from India under the High Impact Community Development Programme (HICDP). It will now be rebuilt with India's support following the floods.

The Indian Air Force flights carried 21 tonnes of aid, along with rescue and forensic teams, to support Nepal's relief operations.

HOW DAWADI HELPED SAVE 1,600 CHILDREN FROM NEPAL FLOODS

Rajendra Dawadi was at the school with 1,643 children when he received flood warning from one of his friends.

Initially believing the concrete, three-storey building was safe, he changed course after being warned that the water was rising rapidly. He rang the school bell and ordered teachers to evacuate the kids from the classrooms.

He also contacted school bus drivers and asked them to turn back. The students fled on foot and eventually took shelter beneath a Bodhi tree as raging floodwaters carrying rocks, mud, ice and debris swept through the area and destroyed the school buildings.

Dawadi's quick action saved all 1,643 children and everyone except one member of the teaching staff. Social history teacher Santos Pariyar, 32, was washed away after returning to his rented room near the river, while school janitor Sultan Lama was also killed after returning to close the school doors.

WHAT TRIGGERED THE RASUWA FLOODS

The flash flood was triggered by a massive collapse of ice and rock from Langtang Lirung peak, which plunged into the Lhende Khola river near the Tibet border.

The resulting torrents tore through the Trishuli Valley, sweeping away buildings, bridges and power infrastructure and killing hundreds of people in Nepal and Tibet.

Indian teams have been involved in rescue operations, including a specialised tunnel-rescue team working with Nepali authorities at the Chilime Hydropower Project in Rasuwa.

India has also sent forensic personnel and relief supplies with Indian Air Force flights transporting aid, rescue personnel and medical assistance to Nepal.

India's assurance to rebuild the school comes as New Delhi has stepped up its wider assistance to flood-hit Nepal.

- Ends