Kathmandu, Sept 16: Preliminary reports indicate that more than 1,000 government vehicles were set ablaze during the Gen Z youth protests in Kathmandu.
According to initial data from various government agencies, a total of 1,042 vehicles were destroyed, including 441 four-wheelers and 601 two-wheelers. Officials noted that the actual number of two-wheelers destroyed could be even higher.
Authorities have yet to release a full account of the damage to both government and private vehicles, and assessing the total economic loss is expected to take time.
A report revealed that the largest number of vehicles destroyed belonged to the Department of Roads, with 65 four-wheelers lost. This was followed by the Supreme Court with 51, the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction with 50, the Prime Minister’s Office with 47, the Ministry of Finance with 36, and the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration with 35 four-wheelers destroyed.
Other ministries affected include the Ministry of Education (26 vehicles), Ministry of Home Affairs (25), Ministry of Health (22), Ministry of Youth and Sports (19), Federal Parliament Secretariat (18), Valley Traffic Police Office (18), Ministry of Forests and Environment (17), and Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development (9).
After the protests on September 7, which claimed 19 lives, senior officials had instructed that government vehicles be parked inside office compounds for security reasons. Despite these precautions, the demonstrations on September 8 escalated into vandalism, looting, and arson within and around Singha Durbar and other government offices, resulting in the burning of both four-wheelers and two-wheelers. Burned vehicles remain visible in government office compounds.
People’s News Monitoring Service
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