Samim Mallik, a Delhi resident, was fleeing Birtamod in turmoil-hit Nepal when he saw agitators setting ablaze government buildings and vehicles on Wednesday afternoon, a day after massive protests, deemed “Gen Z” movement, led to the Himalayan nation’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigning.
“I went to Birtamod to bring home my pregnant wife, who is from Nepal. As the situation worsened, I decided to return alone. I didn’t want her to face any danger. Her parents forbade me to leave but some locals helped me,” Mallik told HT while on his way to Siliguri in West Bengal to board a flight to Delhi from the Bagdogra airport. “The sudden rush of passengers has shot the price of air tickets. The crisis in Nepal has affected everyone,” he added.
Dipen Kumar Chowdhary, a resident of Bidhyawati Nagar in Bihar’s Samastipur district, had gone to Biratnagar for eye treatment. “On Tuesday, I saw a boy, no more than 10 years old, falling to police bullets at Biratnagar. The protesters set shopping malls and offices of political parties on fire. Homes of political leaders were targeted. I somehow managed to flee and reach the India-Nepal border today,” Chowdhary recalled.
Kakarvitta, the main border town in Jhapa district in southeast Nepal, wore a deserted look on Wednesday. With the Himalayan nation in a massive political turmoil and no effective government in place, there was nobody to douse the flames protesters had set to the customs office and the region’s biggest customs warehouse on Tuesday. The blaze was still alive.
{{/usCountry}}Kakarvitta, the main border town in Jhapa district in southeast Nepal, wore a deserted look on Wednesday. With the Himalayan nation in a massive political turmoil and no effective government in place, there was nobody to douse the flames protesters had set to the customs office and the region’s biggest customs warehouse on Tuesday. The blaze was still alive.
{{/usCountry}}“A few thousand young men came here on Tuesday shouting slogans against PM Oli and asked us to leave. They set fire to the building and torched all the vehicles, including some that had Indian licence plates,” Bhoj Raj Dahal, an employee at the Kakarvitta customs office, said. “Hundreds of buildings have been set on fire everywhere. The fire department staff are helpless.”
Prem Sharma, security officer at the customs warehouse, said he and his men had made futile attempts to stop the agitators.
“We tried to reason with them but they were driven by a blind fury. Tea and coffee worth at least ₹6 crore were destroyed in the fire,” Sharma said.
Sisir Chamlagain, a Nepalese journalist, said: “There is virtually no government in Nepal right now. Although curfew has been clamped and our army is trying to restore order, people are defying all prohibitory orders.”
Not only residents, police personnel too seemed overwhelmed by the magnitude of the ongoing unrest in Nepal. “We have shut ourselves inside the police station. People from the media are our only source of information right now. We cannot move out,” a Nepal police officer said, requesting anonymity.
Prabin Adhikari, another Nepalese journalist, said: “More than 20 houses belonging to political leaders were set on fire at Kakarvitta. Police could not do anything to stop them.”
The fallout effect of the unrest was visible everywhere at the Panitanki India-Nepal border in West Bengal’s Darjeeling district. With Indian armed forces maintaining strict vigil, Nepalese nationals were not allowed to enter India, leaving those having urgent business in India helpless.
Saru Rai, whose daughter is admitted at a private nursing home in Siliguri, said: “I must see her. The Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel manning the border did not allow me and my sister to cross the border.”