Although the process of reconstruction of school buildings was already delayed for months, finally, India has taken the initiative to complete the work by deploying Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) to Provide Technical Support For Post-Earthquake Reconstruction of 72 Education Facilities In Nepal.

At a time when the reconstruction of school buildings is in the final stage, India's recent decision to deploy Indian technical team to accelerate the process of reconstruction gives joy to the local communities.

Given Nepal's state of reconstruction, India is very much concerned about the use of quality materials and quality construction, particularly in the school building, Giving high priority to the quality construction, Indian government has deployed CBRI for technical support to make reconstruction earthquake resilient and strong.

The Embassy of India, Kathmandu signed an Agreement with the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee, India for post-earthquake reconstruction of 72 educational facilities in Nepal.

The Agreement was signed by Dr. Ajay Kumar, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Kathmandu, on behalf of the Government of India, and by Dr. Purnima Parida, Group Leader, Planning & Business Development Group, CBRI, Roorkee.

Sushil Gyewali, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) of Nepal and Manjeev Singh Puri, Ambassador of India to Nepal graced the occasion.

The CBRI will provide Design and Project Management Consultancy services for reconstruction of 70 higher secondary schools in seven districts (Gorkha, Nuwakot, Dhading, Dolakha, Kavrepalanchowk, Ramechhap and Sindhpalchowk) as well as the Central Library of Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu and the National Library in Patan, Lalitpur. The CBRI will work with the Central Level Project Implementation Unit (CLPIU) of the Ministry of Education of Nepal to reconstruct/retrofit educational facilities as per the Government of Nepal’s guidelines on disaster-resilient reconstruction.

Separately, Shuchita Kishore, Head of Reconstruction Wing of the Embassy of India and Ima Narayan Shrestha, Project Director, CLPIU (Education) signed separate project specific MoUs, laying out the implementation modalities for reconstruction of eight schools in Gorkha and Nuwakot districts.

The CBRI, Roorkee, a premier National Laboratory under the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), is a pioneer in India for research in the field of shelter planning, building materials, structures, foundations and disaster mitigation.

At a time when there are growing worries over the delay in the reconstruction of schools and heritage sites under the Indian support, the agreement signed by Indian Embassy and India's premier technical institution has helped to end the uncertainty.

As the process of reconstruction of some of the heritage sites under Indian support was delayed due to procurement of quality materials, local people and local government took the responsibility for the reconstruction of temple on their own.

By deploying highly efficient and premier Indian technical teams for the reconstruction of temples, Indian government has shown its commitment to complete the reconstruction of school buildings adhering to the quality of materials and construction.