Kathmandu, July 3 -- When Padam Gurung was 13, a river stood between him and school.

Growing up in a small village in Sindhupalchok, crossing the river was part of daily life. Then one monsoon, torrential flooding swept away the wooden bridge his community depended on. For the next seven months, there was no safe way across, and school became unreachable.

Eventually, villagers strung a steel cable across the river and attached a wooden box to it. To reach the opposite bank, Gurung had to pull himself hand over hand through the air. "You had to pay to cross each time," he recalled. "It was very risky, and parents would worry every day that their children would not return home."

A year later, a suspension bridge was built, replacing the ...