Kathmandu, May 12 — The foundation stone for a new school building in Nepal’s Far-Western Achham district was laid on Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu announced.
The project will construct the building for Shree Basuki Secondary School in Mellekh Rural Municipality–4, Sudurpaschim Province. The ceremony was jointly conducted by Narayan Singh, First Secretary at the Indian Embassy, and Jwala Singh Saud, Chairman of Mellekh Rural Municipality.
The Government of India is providing around Nepali Rupees 38 million to fund the construction under its High Impact Community Development Project (HICDP) programme. The HICDP will be implemented through Mellekh Rural Municipality, with the aim of improving local educational infrastructure and learning conditions for students and teachers.
Local officials and community stakeholders welcomed the assistance, saying the new facility will strengthen the teaching and learning environment and support broader development goals in the municipality.
Indian officials described the initiative as part of wider, multi-sectoral cooperation between the two neighbours. They said HICDPs translate India’s developmental support into tangible benefits at the grassroots level and help augment infrastructure in priority sectors.
The embassy’s statement placed the project in the context of longstanding India–Nepal relations, noting historical, cultural and people-to-people ties, the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and ongoing economic and strategic cooperation. Officials highlighted continuing collaboration on trade, cross-border infrastructure, energy security, and border coordination as elements of India’s “Neighbourhood First” engagement.
The embassy said such community-level projects underscore India’s commitment to deepen bilateral development partnerships and bolster regional connectivity and growth. (ANI)
