Kathmandu, September 27: During the Gen Z movement on September 9, arson and vandalism of government buildings and vehicles caused damages worth Rs. 104 billion. According to a preliminary report compiled by a team from the Nepal Engineers Association, government buildings suffered losses of about Rs. 100 billion, while vehicles sustained damages worth Rs. 4 billion.
The team, which is collecting details of damage to government infrastructure across the country, includes representatives from the Department of Urban Development and Building Construction and structural engineers. The Association stated that, in addition to the preliminary findings, the team is engaged in gathering detailed data.
According to Sunil Thakur, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Urban Development and head of the Special Building Project, 380 federal government buildings were damaged during the movement. Among them, 93 buildings suffered minor damage, 180 buildings partial damage, and 105 buildings were completely destroyed.
Subash Chandra Baral, President of the Nepal Engineers Association, said that besides federal buildings, 60 provincial government buildings and 150 local municipal buildings were also set on fire. “Our preliminary report shows that 60% of the damaged buildings suffered partial damage, while 20% are unusable, and the remaining 20% require complete reconstruction from the foundation,” he said.
He further added that around 400 government vehicles and 600 motorcycles were damaged nationwide, with a total market value of about Rs. 4 billion.
The main building of Singha Durbar, constructed 117 years ago in 1908 by then Rana Prime Minister Chandra Shumsher, was recently set on fire. According to Baral, the preliminary report shows that the main building has to be rebuilt from the foundation. “But a detailed study is still pending. Our initial study suggests that reconstruction will require dismantling from the ground up. The government must immediately initiate a detailed assessment,” he said.
After the 2015 earthquake, the building had undergone reconstruction to restore it to its original state. Earlier, on July 9, 1973, a fire at Singha Durbar destroyed important documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This time too, important documents are believed to have been destroyed. Back then as well, the main building was reconstructed, though its structure was slightly altered.
The fire-ravaged main building of Singha Durbar has now been covered with protective sheets. Experts stress that reconstruction should begin immediately. According to the preliminary report, the main building of Singha Durbar, the northern wing of the Supreme Court, the Ministry of Health building, and the Kathmandu District Court building are at high risk and deemed completely unusable. The study concluded that even for cleaning purposes, people should not enter these structures.
The preliminary report also states that around two dozen hotels across the country were set on fire or damaged. Nationwide, the estimated damages amount to about Rs. 25 billion. Hoteliers claim that the Hilton Hotel in Kathmandu alone suffered damages exceeding Rs. 8 billion.
In recent years, entrepreneurs had been increasingly investing in the hotel sector, leading to the opening of several star hotels across the country, with more under construction. However, the damages from the Gen Z movement have discouraged potential investors in this sector, according to hotel entrepreneurs.
The Hotel Association Nepal confirmed that about two dozen hotels suffered significant damage. According to initial data, the directly affected hotels are located in Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Jhapa, Morang-Biratnagar, Dhangadhi, Mahottari, Dang, and Tulsipur, among other areas.
People’s News Monitoring Service.
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