Kathmandu: The young generation in Nepal has taken to the streets against corruption and social media ban. The protesters on Monday stormed the federal parliament in New Baneshwor in Kathmandu and broke through police barricades to enter the parliament. This movement of the youth has been named Gen-Z protest. 18 people have died during this protest, while 250 have been injured.
According to the report, the Gen-Z protesters had earlier resolved to maintain peace, but the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them. This worsened the situation, after which the Kathmandu district administration imposed a curfew in major areas around Baneshwor from 12:30 pm to 10 pm on Monday. Chief District Officer Chhabi Lal Rijal said in the notice, “Movement of people, demonstrations, meetings, gatherings or sit-ins will not be allowed in the restricted area.”
Soon after the curfew was imposed in New Baneshwar area, the Nepali army has also been deployed as tensions increased. At the same time, seeing the increasing chaos and vandalism in the capital Kathmandu, the Nepal government has ordered to shoot directly in case of vandalism.
Six protesters killed
Earlier, local media reported that at least 42 people were injured in the violent protests. At the same time, one protester died in a clash between protesters and police in New Baneshwar. At the same time, the death toll later increased to six. Earlier, The Himalayan Times had reported that a protester injured by a bullet during violent clashes in New Baneshwor died during treatment at the Civil Hospital. According to the report, thousands of youths, including school students, took out a march in Maitighar and Baneshwor areas since morning and accused the government of rampant corruption and suppressing freedom of expression by banning 26 social media platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and X. The demonstration turned violent when protesters broke police barricades near the Parliament House. After this, security personnel fired lathicharge, tear gas shells and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
The Himalayan Times reported that violent protests took place in New Baneshwor in Kathmandu and Damak in Jhapa district on Monday. In Damak, protesters marched from Damak Chowk towards the municipal office and burnt an effigy of Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. During this, the protesters tried to break the gates of the office. Police fired water cannons, tear gas and rubber bullets at the protesters. During this, protesters were also seen firing tear gas shells at the police. According to the report, several journalists and photographers were also injured while covering the protest in New Baneshwar. According to The Himalayan Times report, these included Dipendra Dhungana of Naya Patrika, Umesh Karki of Nepal Press and Shyam Shrestha of Kantipur Television, who were hit by rubber bullets and are undergoing treatment at the Civil Hospital.
Protests to shut down social media
Let us tell you that the protesters are protesting in Kathmandu, Pokhara, Butwal, Biratnagar and other cities against corruption and the government’s decision to shut down social media. In Baneshwar, some youths were seen climbing the police guard house before security forces fired tear gas. Officials are making continuous efforts to remove the protesters trying to enter the Parliament building. Protesters pelted stones at police
Officials described the situation in Baneshwar as extremely tense and said that the protesters pelted stones at the police and entered the Parliament premises, after which they were removed from there. The protests led by Generation Z youth were initially declared peaceful but it turned violent after barricades were broken.
