The Embassy of India in Kathmandu today gifted 35 ambulances and 66 school buses to various organizations, spread across different districts of Nepal, working in the field of health and education respectively.
The keys of the vehicles were handed over by Naveen Srivastava, Ambassador of India to Nepal, in the presence of Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun, local representatives from various districts as well as representatives of different beneficiary organisations, political representatives, officials of Nepal government of Nepal, and social workers, the Embassy said in the press note.
Out of the total 101 vehicles gifted today, 2 ambulances were handed over on location in the earthquake-affected Jajarkot and West Rukum districts by the representative of the Embassy of India in the presence of district officials and residents.
The government of India has been gifting ambulances and school buses on the occasion of Independence Day and the Republic Day of India for 3 decades to various beneficiary organizations in different parts of Nepal, giving high priority to Nepal's health and education sectors, it is said.
On the occasion, the ambassador said this has been one of the long-standing initiatives of the Government of India under the Nepal-India Development Partnership to bolster the efforts of the Government of Nepal to strengthen its infrastructure in the health and education sectors. He further highlighted that this is a part of the robust development partnership between India and Nepal and has a geographical spread throughout Nepal, touching people's lives and bringing out tangible progress in the development journey of Nepal.
Finance Minister Pun appreciated the Government of India’s various ongoing developmental projects in Nepal and expressed that these will continue to strengthen people-to-people connectivity and bilateral relations between the two countries. He said this flagship programme is very beneficial for the people of Nepal.
Since 1994, the Government of India has gifted 1009 ambulances and 300 school buses across Nepal, including those gifted today. "It is part of the Government of India’s continued support for the efforts of Nepal to strengthen its health and education facilities and to facilitate easy physical access to these services," the Embassy said.
