Met Rajendra Dawadi, Principal, Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School, Bidur, Nuwakot. His timely action saved lives of more than 1600 school children just before the school was swept away in #Rasuwa flash flood. This school was set up in 1950s; Designed by Indian engineer,… pic.twitter.com/XoVkKRvR8x

— Naveen Srivastava, Ambassador of India in Nepal (@navsri6619) September 1, 2026

Principal acted after flood warnings

Dawadi had received multiple warnings about rising floodwaters, including information that water had already swept through the upstream settlement of Betrawati.

He initially decided to evacuate the students after receiving at least four warnings within a matter of minutes. He later saw floodwaters engulf a hostel located about 100 metres from the river.

“I decided I shouldn’t delay any more. Even if the flood was not coming, it was just a matter of a single day’s classes,” Dawadi had told the BBC.

The students were moved to higher ground. Reflecting on how narrowly they had escaped, Dawadi said: “If we had made the decision 10 minutes later, all of us, including the students and me, would not be able to speak to you today.”

A 16-year-old student, Yunisha, also described the narrow escape, saying: “I, along with my friends, survived by just 10 seconds. Within no time, the bazaar was swept away in front of my eyes.”

India to rebuild school

During Tuesday’s meeting, Srivastava conveyed India’s decision to support the complete reconstruction of Tribhuvan Trishuli Secondary School in the future.

The school has a long history of India-Nepal cooperation. It was originally established in the 1950s with Indian assistance and was designed by an engineer associated with the construction of the Trishuli Hydropower Plant.

More recently, the school’s newer building was constructed in 2022 with grant assistance under India’s High Impact Community Development Programme (HICDP).

The reconstruction support therefore comes after the same institution, built with earlier Indian assistance and subsequently expanded through Indian grant funding, was destroyed by the floods.

The announcement also follows renewed attention on Dawadi’s decision to evacuate the students before the floodwaters reached the school, turning what began as a routine school day into a race against rapidly rising water.