KATHMANDU, Nepal, September 1 (ANI): India’s Ambassador to Nepal, Naveen Srivastava, met with Rajendra Dawadi, the principal of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Bidur, Nuwakot, whose split-second evacuation decision saved more than 1,600 children just moments before the campus was obliterated by flash floods.
In a post on X, Ambassador Srivastava commended Principal Dawadi’s swift decision to ring the school bell and clear the premises on August 26, which averted a massive human tragedy as raging floodwaters tore through the Trishuli Valley, sweeping away the entire institution.
During the meeting, Ambassador Srivastava conveyed that India will support the complete reconstruction of the school in the future.
The ambassador highlighted that the school was originally established in the 1950s with Indian assistance and designed by an engineer involved in the construction of the Trishuli Hydropower Plant. The school’s newer building had been constructed as recently as 2022 through grant funding under the High Impact Community Development Programme (HICDP).
“Met Rajendra Dawadi, Principal, Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, Bidur, Nuwakot. His timely action saved lives of more than 1,600 school children just before the school was swept away in the #Rasuwa flash flood. This school was set up in the 1950s; designed by an Indian engineer involved in the construction of the Trishuli Hydropower Plant, built with assistance. The new building of this school was built through the #HICDP programme with a grant in 2022. Conveyed to Mr. Dawadi that @IndiaInNepal will support reconstruction of the school in the future,” he wrote on X.
At Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in Trishuli, the lives of more than 1,600 students were threatened as the water level rose. However, the principal, with his presence of mind, risked his life to rescue the children and evacuated all of them in what was nothing short of a race against time.
Following his heroic efforts, the students were saved, but floodwaters engulfed the school building.
Speaking with ANI, a local resident named Surendar Kumar described how the children’s lives were saved and how the school, which once shaped students’ dreams, was now covered in rubble and mud.
Narrating the incident, Kumar said, “There used to be a three-story building here—a school. There was a temple right in front of it—a Ram temple. And this whole area was a market. In that open space in the middle—that’s where the three-story school stood. 1,600 students studied there. And on the very day this happened, the teachers evacuated all the children and got them to safety. There’s absolutely no sign of the school anymore; it was completely swept away. And there was a Ram temple too… Many people died here… There is no information yet on exactly how many, but the toll was high. So, everything here is gone.”
Meanwhile, the death toll from the devastating flash flood in Nepal has reached 1,003, according to an official update released by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) as of 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
The recovered bodies, which include unidentified human remains, have been found across eight districts: 321 in Chitwan, 216 in Nawalparasi East, 170 in Nawalparasi West, 95 in Nuwakot, 65 in Gorkha, 57 in Dhading, 41 in Rasuwa and 38 in Tanahun.
To manage unidentified remains, bodies have been transferred to 21 hospitals across various districts, with details posted on official government web portals and social media channels.
The report highlights that 3,916 people remain missing following the disaster. Local administrative reports indicate that 1,558 people are missing in Nuwakot and 865 in Rasuwa, alongside 639 workers from hydropower projects, 583 foreign nationals and 164 Nepali citizens traveling with foreign groups.
Large-scale rescue operations have successfully saved 11,884 people to date. Aerial rescue operations conducted by the Nepal Army account for 3,782 evacuated individuals, including 273 foreigners and 3,509 Nepalis. (ANI)
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