NUWAKOT: Schools in Nuwakot affected by flooding in the Trishuli River following the Bhotekoshi flood have been closed indefinitely.
All schools in the flood-affected areas of Bidur Municipality and Kispang Rural Municipality have been closed. Meanwhile, Belkotgadhi Municipality and Tarakeshwar Rural Municipality have said that the operation of educational institutions in the affected areas remains uncertain.
Bidur Mayor Rajan Shrestha said there are no immediate plans to reopen schools, as students, teachers and parents have been displaced or remain unaccounted for following the floods. Damage to school buildings, roads and bridges has also made travel difficult.
According to Shrestha, schools will resume only after daily life returns to normal and people are able to cross the river safely.
Education Branch Chief Nawaraj Sapkota said that although authorities had received information about the approaching flood, the scale of the disaster was far beyond what had been anticipated.
“Some schools were able to avert major accidents by remaining on high alert,” he said. “The current situation and daily life are highly unusual. After some time, we will prepare a plan to continue education through alternative means.”
Of the 83 schools operating in Bidur Municipality, which was among the areas hardest hit by the flooding of the Trishuli River, around a dozen have been directly affected. According to the Education Branch, the buildings of four schools have been completely destroyed.
Preliminary data prepared by the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Nuwakot, shows that the entire structures of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, Ramchandra Basic School, Chetna Basic School and Trishuli Community Boarding School have been damaged, making it impossible to operate classes at those locations.
Similarly, three blocks and the hostel building of Uttargaya English Boarding School have been completely damaged, leaving only one block standing. The hostel for visually impaired students at Chandeshwari Secondary School, Shaheed Jagat Prakash Jung Shah Sanskrit Secondary School, and the compound surrounding Pioneer English Boarding School have also been damaged, making it difficult to resume operations.
One bus belonging to Ramchandra Basic School and two buses belonging to Uttargaya English Boarding School were also swept away by the flood.
In Kispang Rural Municipality, although school buildings were not damaged, two schools are currently being used as holding centres for people displaced by the flood. A holding centre has also been established at one school in Belkotgadhi.
Shiladevi Secondary School in Belkotgadhi-7 was directly affected by the flood, while Mahadev Secondary School in Ward No. 5 has also sustained damage.
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