One video on social media shows Avenues tv videographer Suresh Rajak filming <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/republicans-and-royalists-on-nepal-s-streets">Friday's pro-monarchy protests</a> in Kathmandu through windows shattered by stone-throwing crowds on the street below. The steel sliding door has been padlocked from the outside.&nbsp;
Minutes later, the rioters set fire to the building and stoned a fire truck trying to douse the flames. Rajak’s body was found two hours later after colleagues started searching for him.
Onlinekhabar journalist Dinesh Gautam was taking pictures of protesters snatching a tear gas gun from a policeman, when they attacked him, fracturing his leg. Across the Tinkune intersection, protesters attempted to set fire to the office of Annapurna Post and pelted stones at the Kantipur Television building. A Himalayan TV van was set alight.
Kathmandu woke up on Saturday to watch videos of the violence on their devices, or buy dailies at the newstands. The front pages carried special editorials and publisher’s notes that accused the royalists of deliberately targetting the media.&nbsp;
The <a href="http://www.fnjnepal.org/np">Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ)</a> organised memorials nationwide for Rajak and called the royalist attacks “a black day for press freedom”, comparing it to the days of the absolute monarchy.
“The attacks on the press and activists prove that protesters had no intention of peaceful gathering, they were itching for violence,” former FNJ chair Taranath Dahal said at the event in Kathmandu attended by hundreds of journalists.
Nepal’s public sphere appears to be polarised by former king Gyanendra Shah’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-ghost-of-monarchy-returns-to-haunt-nepal">attempt to reinstate Nepal as a Hindu kingdom</a>. While the mainstream press is vocally critical of the arson and looting unleashed by his supporters on Friday, on social media the picture is more mixed with many accusing the security forces of provoking the protesters.
The posts say riot police used the roof of the building that was torched to fire tear gas shells at the stage prepared for pro-monarchy figures. Police denied doing this. The owner of Avenues tv, Bhaskar Rajkarnikar, who is on a pro-monarchy committee led by Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala, had one of his own journalists burnt to death by royalist protesters. He has since accused the police of not doing enough to douse the fire and rescue Suresh Rajak.&nbsp;
The other fatality on Friday was 29-year-old Sabin Maharjan who got a police bullet in his neck. At least 112 people were injured, including 77 security officials. Apart from newspaper buildings, protestors vandalised private property, party buildings as well as ransacked a Bhatbhateni department store and a pharmaceutical factory.
Late Friday night, pro-monarchy leaders Rabindra Mishra and MP Dhawal Shumsher Rana of the royalist RPP were arrested for instigating demonstrators to engage in violence. The leader of Friday’s protest, business tycoon and alleged bank defaulter<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/street-politics"> Durga Prasai</a>, who rammed his pickup through police cordons, has eluded the police dragnet.
Many have said that the final responsibility for Friday’s violence lies with Gyanendra Shah, who reportedly instructed Prasai directly on Thursday on plans for the rally. The government is reportedly planning to strip Shah of state facilities granted to him since the monarchy was abolished in 2008, and to cancel his passport because of fears he may flee the country.
Ex-king Gyanendra has not yet spoken out about the protests. The RPP under Rajendra Lingden gave moral support to the protest but he had disagreements with Prasai, Mishra and Rana about how and when to hold it. The party meeting on Saturday is said to have decided to continue with “peaceful protests” to restore Nepal’s monarchy. Strategically, it helps Lingden's position within the party that a more radical faction is being blamed for Friday’s violence.
Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba of the NC on Saturday warned: “If this is what Gyanendra is doing now, what will he do if he is a king? He has never been a constitutional monarch, and he never will be.”
In its Special Editorial titled ‘<a href="https://ekantipur.com/opinion/2025/03/29/special-editorial-make-gyanendra-shah-accountable-16-58.html">Hold Gyanendra Shah Accountable</a>’ on Saturday, Kantipur wrote: ‘Instead of presenting ideological, political, and practical arguments for monarchy the royalists have engaged in vandalism, arson, and looting, proving that frenzy and chaos is inherent in their identity and character.’
Most editorials and analyses emphasised that Friday’s protest was an indication of public dissatisfaction with Nepal’s three main party leaders who have been prime minister multiple times — their corruption, lack of accountability and impunity.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sacking-of-nea-chief-exposes-cronyism">Public anger is bubbling away</a>, and Friday’s mayhem in Tinkune was a manifestation of this. This should be a final wake-up call to political parties to clean up their act, and for ageing leadership to hand the reins to younger untainted figures before the next elections in 2027.
This is the reason leaders like Balen Shah and Rabi Lamichhane were elected in 2022, and is proof that at least democracy allows citizens to choose their next leaders.
But for democracy to function, it needs checks and balances in place, and this is where the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/media-matters">role of the media as a watchdog </a>becomes crucial. It is when critical voices are silenced and suppressed, dictators are born.
Following an emergency central committee meeting, the FNJ has announced protests demanding action against those involved in the killing of Rajak. “Protesters might have attacked and killed journalists, vandalised equipment and media outlets, but you will lose,” FNJ’s Deepak Acharya said at Saturday’s memorial. “Nepal’s press has always fought authoritarian control and it will keep fighting.”

Sonia Awale

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Nepal’s déjà vu on Black Friday

The new NC-UML government that was sworn in this week is a rare instance where Nepal’s two largest parties that have taken turns overthrowing each other for four decades, are finally in government together.
Ever since the restoration of democracy in 1990, the NC and UML were bitter rivals and demonstrated their one-upmanship while in the opposition by punishing the Nepali people with national shutdowns at the slightest pretext.
Called ‘hartal’ or ‘banda’, these were acts of enforced compliance that banned street movement, closed schools, and all economic activity. A few vehicles that defied the shutdown would be torched early in the morning at busy intersections for maximum publicity to terrorise the public. The tactic worked brilliantly.&nbsp;
After the end of the conflict in 2006 the Maoists also weaponised the &nbsp;banda, and tried to improve on it with multiple-day hartal. That did not go down too well because desperate people spontaneously spilled out into the streets on urgent errands after the first day.&nbsp;
In that sense, this NC-UML coalition can be called historic. Or it could be history repeating itself as Oli and Deuba, out of sheer habit, start stabbing each other in the back.
Back in the day, banda were central to the Nepali identity, it even became a tourist attraction since trekking expeditions began from Kathmandu airport itself. But can anyone remember the last successful hartal? It sort of went out of fashion, and we miss those good old days.
Let’s see if the jilted Comrade Lotus Flower does not get nostalgic and start calling for national shutdowns against Deuba and Oli for pulling the rug from under him.&nbsp;
We must admit that banda organisers in the past had class, pizzazz, style and gumption. Civil servants, students, workers all rejoiced when a shutdown was announced because it meant an unscheduled holiday. For some reason, street vigilantes banned four-wheelers, but pedal rickshaws were allowed. (Four legs bad, three legs good.)
This was in the prehistoric era before PUBG, TikTok, and Youtube, so youngsters could take full advantage of the empty streets to play football, cricket and water polo, in one curious case involving a healthy-sized pothole in Pulchok.&nbsp;
Taxis were toasted, tyre pyres burned in the streets and the city was overcome with the smell of burning rubber. We tracked down a party faithful who used to be a banda enforcer, now older and wiser, who misses the fun and excitement.
“I was in charge of sourcing tyres,” he recalled. “Truck tyres were the best, but sometimes we had to do with skinny motorcycle ones. But for a real long-lasting bonfire, tractor tyres were much sought after. Sometimes we burnt tyres still attached to cars.”
This comrade got so hooked to tyres that he gave up his Unified Marxist-Leninist ideals and transferred his skills to selling tyres in Melbourne, pursuing his lifelong passion for rubber and tread.
One reason banda were so successful was that with all the holidays for festivals and new years, that another day or two off did not feel at all strange. Somewhere deep in our dharmic souls, fatalistic Nepalis even believed that we deserved shutdowns.&nbsp;
Today the only banda we have are state-sponsored ones during the state visit of a Qatari Prince, or another stopover by Prime Minister Modi or President Xi, when the streets are all cleared and everyone can enjoy a well-deserved break away from work.
Records show that the last banda was called by the Biplav faction of breakaway Maoists some years ago, and enforced by the strategic placement of a couple of ominous looking pressure cookers on traffic junctions. But people had stopped paying heed, and it was a big flop.
Even though the relaxation of an unexpected day off is hard to pass up today, 21st century Nepalis know that each day wasted is another day’s delay in getting a visa to leave the country.
There may be a rationale for reviving the banda culture: to reduce Nepal’s carbon footprint and allow the country to meet its SDG target by 2030. The country’s petroleum import bill would come down, narrowing our trade deficit. There would be enormous health benefits from better air quality, so we can all breathe again. A banda would therefore be better than subsidising EVs. For a re-run of the banda lifestyle, we will have to wait and see if this NC-UML coalition implodes, or if impatient Maoist comrades take to streets again to call for one of their one-week shutdowns. And if there is a re-emergence, we are sure Nepalis will go along saying “के गर्ने” or “यस्तै हो".
Vishad Raj Onta

के गर्ने, यस्तै हो

As soon as Nepal’s festival season ended, two opposing political groups took to the streets of Kathmandu in a brewing struggle between pluralism and populism.&nbsp; People bused in by business tycoon and bank defaulter Durga Prasai gathered in Balkhu Thursday for what he called a “citizen’s movement to protect the nation, nationalism, religion and culture”. Prasai has latched on to a political line calling for a return of the monarchy and re-establishing Nepal as a Hindu state.&nbsp; Meanwhile, in Tinkune the UML’s youth wing, the National Youth Federation and former parliamentarian Mahesh Basnet, a close confidante of UML chair KP Oli, gathered to protest what it called the incompetence of the current coalition government.&nbsp; But beneath the surface the simultaneous rallies represented a major falling out between Prasai and the UML.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_e65096fd5cf8b0ccfeec08c27dcd1260db90632724cee8d6e5f4f609f424d3d1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231123111152_e65096fd5cf8b0ccfeec08c27dcd1260db90632724cee8d6e5f4f609f424d3d1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> <figcaption>Photos: GOPEN RAI</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_4f12126c2e0c4bb7b230b6a84369b869153c45ec213e312ab48af52bb8b715f1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231123111152_4f12126c2e0c4bb7b230b6a84369b869153c45ec213e312ab48af52bb8b715f1" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_fc3552bc1dc1ef4f7f83b1bb000842b1243f36bc1817793611bacef56fddb5ba.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20231123111152_fc3552bc1dc1ef4f7f83b1bb000842b1243f36bc1817793611bacef56fddb5ba" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>  It is not uncommon for Nepalis to gather in masses to protest, but what stood out this time was the government's (and the opposition party’s) response to it.&nbsp; In 2018, Durga Prasai hosted a famous lunch meeting between then-Prime Minister KP Oli and now-Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at his residence, playing mediator as they attempted to unite their two parties into the now-defunct NCP and negotiate leadership responsibilities within the new party.&nbsp; Prasai had dealings with Dahal, but the businessman would eventually build close ties with Oli, becoming the leader’s trusted associate. He later became a member of the UML’s Central Committee. But their relationship soured over the years. Prasai, who is significantly in debt after having borrowed to start a hospital in eastern Nepal, has also been leading a public campaign urging bank debtors not to repay loans.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_f3f5a3ea643a93c2881a2d3ca415c3fbead3eb343ef1817077465b9f639c83f2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20231123111152_f3f5a3ea643a93c2881a2d3ca415c3fbead3eb343ef1817077465b9f639c83f2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111152_526112221cacdb7b421fbc00a896dc5ebde79e1b3f6c6ef0dc2656148227e04f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231123111152_526112221cacdb7b421fbc00a896dc5ebde79e1b3f6c6ef0dc2656148227e04f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="Durga Prasai protests Balkhu NT"> </figure>  Many have seen his anti-establishment pivot from party politics as a ploy to get out of paying back the money he owes.&nbsp; Prasai’s strategy seems to be working. Many defaulters affected by the government’s loan policies are said to have supported Prasai’s rally. On Thursday, UML protestors on a bike rally were pelted with stones by the Prasai camp. Protestors in Balkhu also clashed with security personnel. Meanwhile in Tinkune, the designated zone for the UML gathering, the rally was relatively peaceful. “Disenfranchised Nepalis who are not entirely politically aware are frustrated with elected leaders and are looking for reliable leadership,” says political analyst Indra Adhikari. “That is why some are trying to cash in on that frustration and helplessness.” The UML framed its own protest as an attempt to get back in charge of the government, with chair KP Oli seemingly placing the cause of the anti-establishment, pro-monarchy protest on the NC-Maoist led coalition.&nbsp; “The incompetence of this government, which has created an environment conducive to regression and enabled regressive forces, is unacceptable,” said Oli ahead of the planned rally. “If the government cannot function efficiently, those who are leading it must step down.” Oli’s full backing of his youth wing’s attempt to engage with the Prasai-led rally has baffled many. Analysts say Oli may be worried that his soured relationship with Prasai could mean some of the skeletons in his closet could come out. Prasai has accused the UML chair of having massive amounts of properties and investments overseas. &nbsp; “Prasai’s actions in recent times have been a ploy to get himself out of his current financial mess by garnering the support of people who are also indebted to banks,” says analyst Adhikari. She adds, “Why KP Oli has declared a figure like Prasai an equal opponent worthy of giving space, and why the UML has not questioned it, is mind-boggling.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_a52165bc6414f05c978cddde5aa1c77091e964997ad054d98e2170febcfe2f3f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20231123111156_a52165bc6414f05c978cddde5aa1c77091e964997ad054d98e2170febcfe2f3f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> <figcaption>The UML's youth wing staged their protest at Tinkune in Kathmandu. Photos: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_18f1c9979ee1360a7dc07ea9770cf486005e63820c5c8c8aee8cdec7d9d0f17b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20231123111156_18f1c9979ee1360a7dc07ea9770cf486005e63820c5c8c8aee8cdec7d9d0f17b" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_98590deda64961f5a5c89dca41bc3e78a1677f8d7319abb38b5b88a0daa32698.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20231123111156_98590deda64961f5a5c89dca41bc3e78a1677f8d7319abb38b5b88a0daa32698" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>  The pro-monarchy movement has also brought to light burgeoning divisions within the royalist-right RPP. While RPP chair Rajendra Lingden publicly distanced himself from Prasai’s platform, other leaders like Prakash Chandra Lohani and Rabindra Mishra have been more open towards the businessman’s attempt to engage.&nbsp; Nepal’s other mainstream political parties also seem to be keyed into the pulse of increasingly anti-secularist as well as pro-monarchist public opinion. NC chair Sher Bahadur Deuba is said to have spoken out against secularism during a recent party meeting, citing dissatisfaction of a majority of Hindus with Nepal’s secular status.&nbsp; The coalition’s response to the two rallies, meanwhile, has been to further constrict physical as well as digital spaces to protest and dissent, with authorities declaring the area between Maitighar Mandala and New Baneswor a prohibited zone to protests for 30 days. Lalitpur also banned a gathering of more than five people in the Pulchok area for six months. “The government’s security concerns regarding protests and rallies have to come hand-in-hand with the protection of citizens’ rights to assemble and to dissent guaranteed by the Constitution, whichever group they might belong to,” says Adhikari.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_15eb0b3db1cafa0dc9d6412261843e310d0b3a56b42bbf29a38473745a458594.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20231123111156_15eb0b3db1cafa0dc9d6412261843e310d0b3a56b42bbf29a38473745a458594" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_490a5c31694a3649ad23d853600196c6e8c318f1f433fafc7044bc43c75ac917.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20231123111156_490a5c31694a3649ad23d853600196c6e8c318f1f433fafc7044bc43c75ac917" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231123111156_bcc5c78539a153c86971cfcaa87488ed140eb987e20a5a3bb72fef1144d54784.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20231123111156_bcc5c78539a153c86971cfcaa87488ed140eb987e20a5a3bb72fef1144d54784" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1366" loading="lazy" alt="UML protests Tinkune NT"> </figure>  Analysts say that the restrictions on dissent adds to the infringement of free speech already affected by the recent TikTok ban in Nepal. “If we are to ban TikTok, we might as well ban the whole of social media and the internet—Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter have all been similarly misused,” says senior advocate Dinesh Tripathi. Already, there are concerns about censorship. On Wednesday, anchor Bhushan Dahal claimed the AP1 tv had refused to air his interview with Durga Prasai, alarming many and leading the presenter to release the interview on YouTube. Meanwhile, Kathmandu Mayor Balen Shah has sent a four-point bulletin to the Censor Board, urging it to ‘stop broadcasting content that harms Nepal’s independence and self-respect.’ Says Tripathi: “The remedy to any problem should not be worse than a disease in a democracy— any step taken by the government must be in line with the Constitution, and must not constrict democratic space.”

Shristi Karki

Street politics

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110101156/636ccb9e9c7e80680e08bbd2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960"/><figcaption>Photos: AMIT MACHAMASI</figcaption></figure>Protests against the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/history-of-female-immobility-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">recent government proposal </a>requiring women to have permission from the male members of their families and local governments to travel abroad continued on Friday with a march towards Singha Darbar.Friday’s rally was organised by various groups with protestors, many of them wearing black, raising slogans against proposed travel restrictions on women, and a spate of rapes across the country in which perpetrators have gone unpunished.“The government’s protectionist approach denies women their agency. This is unacceptable,” said human rights activist, Pranika Koyu. “And this is not the first time the Nepal Government has done it.”<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccba19c7e80680e08bbd3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2211" height="1474"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccba69c7e80680e08bbd4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1340" height="894"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccba89c7e80680e08bbd5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1382" height="922"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbab9c7e80680e08bbd6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1447" height="965">In 1985, the Foreign Employment Act prohibited recruiters from providing jobs to women without the consent of guardians. In 1988, the Act was amended to include permission from guardians as well as the government.“In the past, they restricted women to travel for work, saying it curtailed children’s right to care from their mother, as though fathers have no responsibility towards their children. Women’s involvement in the economy feeds the family and reduces state responsibility. And the latest move, even after the clarification they have given, insults women’s contribution,” said Koyu.The Department of Immigration issued a press release after widespread condemnation on social media, clarifying that the provision of women needing permission was only applicable to those travelling alone for the first time to the Gulf or Africa. But that did not satisfy protestors, who said the government had only ‘backtracked’ in the face of opposition, and in any case it violated a woman's right to travel freely. The proposed rule was viewed as pushing the women who are already in vulnerable positions, into worse circumstances."My vagina will vote you out," said Hima Bista, who was addressing Friday's rally.The government of Prime Minister K P Oli, already cornered after the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/muscle-vs-muscle-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">split within the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP)</a>, appears now to have antagonised the public further with the latest proposal on the travel restriction for women, and inaction on rape cases.Last week, a 17-year-old girl was raped in Baitadi, reminiscent of another rape case of Nirmala Panta in 2018, where government failed to make arrests.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbae9c7e80680e08bbd7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbb19c7e80680e08bbd8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1437" height="958"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbb49c7e80680e08bbd9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbb79c7e80680e08bbdajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1305" height="870"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbb99c7e80680e08bbdbjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960">“It is always women and the gender minority that the government has failed,” said writer Anbika Giri, who was at the protest in Basantapur. “We worked so hard to get a constitution, and so many people died in this country. The constitution is in crisis now. It wasn’t like things were great before KP Oli dissolved the parliament, either. But, I’m here to protest because the unfair laws against women need to be rewritten and the parliament has to be reinstated.”Nepal entered a new phase of political turmoil after Prime Minister Oli had dissolved the lower house of the Parliament on 20 December. Snap polls have been called for 30 April and 10 May. But with the recent series of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-women-protest-proposed-travel-provisions/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">street protests</a>,  political uncertainty has grown. This week, the government came under criticism for the brief arrest of Ram Kumari Jhankri, a leader from a rival faction of the ruling NCP, after she made controversial remarks about President Bidya Devi Bhandari.“I think of the many structural problems, one that needs addressing is the patriarchal order. It overpowers so much of our socio-political dynamics. Coming from both ethnic and gender privilege, the onus is on us to support any cause that goes against the patriarchy,” said Nayan P Sindhuliya, researcher and translator.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbbc9c7e80680e08bbdcjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbbf9c7e80680e08bbddjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbc39c7e80680e08bbdejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022111011110/636ccbc59c7e80680e08bbdfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1440" height="960">Although Friday's rallies had more to do with the rights of women, and against gender-based violence, they add pressure on the government of Prime Minister Oli, even as the Supreme Court debates his move and is expected to give a decision later this month.“We can protect women from violence and rape, but we don’t do anything about it, just because it is not someone in our life. We have deep fear inside us that the women in our lives—sister, mother and others might face similar violence. There is no option to ending all kinds of violence against women,” said Shamsad Adil, who read a poem written by his sister at the event.Nepali migrant workers have faced numerous problems in their work place over the years, ranging from being underpaid to getting laid off illegally, not to mention them dying on the job and families going without proper redress. The current provision is also being termed a negation of sensitivity to male migrant workers’ plight.“Why is the government targeting women in the lowest rung? Also, if they’re saying they want to protect female migrant workers from being trafficked, what about men? Male migrants are equally vulnerable to trafficking,” said Koyu.Koyu, who has written prose and poetry on gender and migration, added: “As an adult, you have every right to self-determination, individually. Putting travel restrictions on migrant women workers makes them more vulnerable, because they will resort to third country routes. It means women will be at the mercy of agents who will extort and seek sexual favours. But any woman travelling under those provisions will be more vulnerable to harassment.”

More anti-government rallies in Nepal

<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/trump-shock-wave-hits-nepal">US President Donald Trump</a>’s announcement of hefty trade tariffs last week has reverberated worldwide, causing turmoil in <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ce3qnyr7y94t">international trade and stock markets</a>.
The Trump administration announced a baseline 10% tariff on all goods from every country entering the US market, including products from Nepal. But other countries got <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/03/trumps-tariffs-the-full-list">slapped with even higher tariffs</a>: 20% for goods from the European Union, 26% on Indian exports to the US, and a massive 54% on China.&nbsp;
Many countries have imposed additional reciprocal tariffs on US goods, and there are fears of a global recession. It has been compared to dropping a nuclear bomb on the global trading system.
The tariffs will increase customs duty on foreign goods entering the US, ultimately increasing their prices for end consumers. This may reduce the competitiveness of imports, as a result of which there could be a decline in exports from China, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and other countries that export manufactured goods to the US.
The US is Nepal's second-largest export market, with goods worth Rs17.31 billion exported during the last fiscal year. These include <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Churpi-gaining-popularity-outside-Nepal,1048">chhurpi dog chew</a>, woolen carpets, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/passionate-about-pashmina">pashmina</a>, ready-made garments, and handicrafts.&nbsp;
Dog chews and woolen carpets account for more than half of Nepal's total exports to the US. Nepal exported nearly 1,000 tonnes of dog chews to the United States.&nbsp;
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">Following the 2015 earthquake</a>, the US granted Nepal duty-free treatment for 77 items under its <a href="https://np.usembassy.gov/nepal-trade-preference-program/">Nepal Trade Preference Program</a> (NTPP). The period for these non-reciprocal preferential trade benefits will end on 31 December 2025.
It is not clear if the 10% tariff will apply to those items during the course of this year, and the ultimate fate of the NTPP.&nbsp;
“The NTTP was passed as law by the US Congress a decade ago, so we can assume that the current administration will not revoke it through an executive order,” says Ravi Shankar Sainju, also the former joint secretary of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies.
But he adds that the US is unlikely to extend the trade benefit to Nepal after December, as the Nepal government has not taken the necessary steps to renegotiate the NTTP.&nbsp;
Kiran Saakha, president of the Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also doubts that the NTTP will end immediately, adding: “The US Embassy was unable to provide us with a clear answer when we asked about the program. But as far as we understand, the benefits Nepal has received under the NTPP remain in place for now.”
Nepal has not been able to increase exports of the 77 specified products and reap full benefits of the zero tax facility. However, even with recent developments, economists say that a 10% duty on Nepali exports will not affect Nepal much and may even benefit the country,
<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/products-made-in-nepal,3345">Exports from Nepal </a>would still be cheaper in the US market than goods from countries in the region which have had much higher tariffs placed on them, like India (26%), Pakistan (29%) Bangladesh (37%), and Sri Lanka (44%).
“The countries in the region export goods to the US that Nepal can produce,” says economist Poshraj Pandey. “With the US having imposed a relatively lower tariff on Nepal, there is a potential to actually increase exports to the American market.”
Saakha of the Nepal-USA Chamber of Commerce and Industry, agrees that the demand for Nepali goods could increase, but adds that the country must be more competitive.
Nepal had a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-post-mortem-of-nepal-s-garment-boom">booming ready-made garment industry</a> leading up to the early 2000s with 500 industries employing 85,000 workers, and accounted for a quarter of the country’s total exports. But the termination of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) in December 2004 ended quotas that countries like Nepal had benefitted from. Currently, cotton and polyester garments from Nepal are subject to 18% and 20% customs duty respectively in the US market.&nbsp;
“Nepal has the opportunity to increase the export of ready-made garments once again,” says Bhim Kumar Giri of the Garment Association Nepal (GAN). “It is time to dust off our old machines and bring them back into production. Since garment exporting countries like India, Bangladesh, and Vietnam have been slapped with high tariffs, Nepal’s products will become competitive once again.”
But to take advantage of the tariff differential, Nepal has to be much more investment-friendly and transparent than it is now. While analysts discuss hypotheticals, there are doubts as to the US government’s commitment to its new tariff announcement.&nbsp;
“We cannot be certain about Trump’s trade policies, he may reverse it just as suddenly,” says economist Pandey.
“There is cautious optimism about Nepal being less affected by Trump’s tariffs, but Nepal should not count its chicken before they hatch,” says trade expert Ravi Shankar Sainju. “Because daily expenses for the average American have risen, there may be less demand for Nepal’s exports.” &nbsp;
In the past, high production and transportation costs and low productivity have hurt the competitiveness of Nepal’s products in the international market. Raw materials required to produce goods in Nepal have to be imported, and the country’s landlocked location increases cost of production.
Former GAN president Chandi Prasad Aryal says the fact that Nepali exports have lower tax rates will be meaningless unless the Nepal government removes existing hurdles to production and export, ensures domestic production of raw materials, and promotes productivity.&nbsp;
“These new trade dynamics will be a wasted opportunity unless we can facilitate competitive production within Nepal,” he adds.
Nepal can benefit from the new US trade policy, but experts warn that Nepal must not misuse it. With high customs imposed on goods from neighbouring nations, there is a risk of those goods entering Nepal markets to be re-exported as <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-heads-to-toes">Made in Nepal products</a>. &nbsp;
Says Kiran Saakha: “Government and entrepreneurs must be vigilant in preventing crimes that could lead to Nepal losing its credibility in the international market. Otherwise, the US might just as easily take away the small concessions it has currently granted to us.”

Trump tariff to benefit Nepal

Ever since leaving his home village in Syangja, Purna Gurung has been crossing bridges when he comes to them. And here he is at age 55, supervising the pile-driving for a new bridge in Tasmania, 10,000km away from home. Gurung has built <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/how-safe-are-nepals-suspension-bridges">bridges</a> in Africa, worked on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-first-and-forgotten-tunnel">tunnels</a> in Hong Kong, and moved up the ranks in teams building complex infrastructure projects <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/flying-home-in-a-pandemic">across the world</a>. All that experience is standing him in good stead in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/australian-galley-returns-stolen-strut-to-nepal">Australia</a>, where he came 15 years ago. Purna Gurung has brought other Nepali engineers to join him in the bridge project here. He got his former co-worker Mansuba Gurung to come from New Zealand, and other Nepali engineers from the Australian mainland.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250403140440_4437eca5b584ca91ac43516c3961760fdc1b956d6dcb13da3b7a6fe4c20a9d4a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250403140440_4437eca5b584ca91ac43516c3961760fdc1b956d6dcb13da3b7a6fe4c20a9d4a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1285" height="723" loading="lazy" alt="Tasmania"> <figcaption>Hobart, the capital city of Tasmania with Mount Wellington in background.</figcaption> </figure>  “We are a professional and energetic team, born in the high <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-mountains-are-melting">mountains of Nepal </a>and now working on this historic bridge in Tasmania,” says Gurung, as he drives a recent visitor to the construction site, and points out the piers and girders from the window. “My role is to maintain professional integrity and motivate my team, especially the Nepalis here.” The feeling appears to be mutual. Gurung is regarded as a sort of guru by the other Nepalis at the site, and he is respected for his expertise in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/This/building-bridges-in-nepal-to-combat-poverty,308">bridge-building</a>, his capacity for taking on difficult tasks and teamwork.&nbsp; At the site itself, one could easily imagine oneself on a construction site in Nepal: workers in hard hats are shouting instructions to each other in Nepali. Indeed, Nepali is said to be the most spoken language in Tasmania after English, and there are at least five Nepali restaurants in Hobart alone.&nbsp; Despite its bucolic setting with neat, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/nepal-can-lead-in-zero-carbon">clean and green environment</a>, many Tasmanians migrate to the mainland or abroad to seek new opportunities. Which is why the Australian government provides higher wages and encourages immigrants from Nepal and elsewhere a fast-track to permanent residence if they move to the island. Nearly half of Tasmania is protected <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-wellbeing-of-the-wilderness">wilderness</a> which has many species found nowhere else in the world. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-other-attraction-the-night-sky">Nature-based tourism</a> is becoming the mainstay of Tasmania’s economy, Australia’s smallest state. There is also a new infrastructure drive, and this includes the Tasmania’s longest bridge over the River Derwentin which Purna Gurung and his team are working on. The Derwent flows down from Lake St Clair in Tasmania's Central Plateau and 182km later discharges into Storm Bay.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250403140440_b69911289a50c7d4d6dcd77d9884cbe97946afd553ae5da194c68735478e51c6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250403140440_b69911289a50c7d4d6dcd77d9884cbe97946afd553ae5da194c68735478e51c6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1391" height="783" loading="lazy" alt="Tasmania"> <figcaption>Low Bridgewater Bridge will be demolished after completion of the new project.</figcaption> </figure>  Compared to delayed bridge-building which is the norm in Nepal, construction here is progressing on schedule, and was preceded by an environmental assessment and measures to ensure that aboriginal and cultural sensitivities were addressed.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/10-000-bridges">10,000 bridges</a> Despite criticism about high cost of the $786 million Bridgewater Bridge, it appears to be worth it because cyclists and pedestrians have been given high priority with a safe three-metre-wide shared path on the upstream side of the bridge. A temporary bridge has also been built to streamline work, and will be dismantled later. Purna Gurung is popular with his team members, especially his colleagues from Nepal. After completion of the Tasmania bridge later this year, he has already got a commitment to work on a tunnel project in Adelaide. He has not thought about retirement, and tells us: “I have spent over three decades of my life building bridges and tunnels, and all that experience is very useful as I take on more challenging work.”

Nepali building bridges in Tasmania

Usually in winter, air quality in Kathmandu is equivalent to smoking two packs of cigarettes a day. But <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/wildfire-season-starts-early-in-nepal">wildfires raging</a> across central Nepal for the past weeks may have increased that to four packs a day. <a href="https://firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov/map/#d:24hrs;@86.3,28.9,7.0z" target="_blank">NASA’s Fire Information and Resource Management System (FIRMS)</a> uses infrared heat detecting satellites to map the world for fires. While central India and Burma are the worst affected, forests along the central Tarai and the mountains south of Kathmandu have hundreds of red dots — each representing a forest fire. Kathmandu Valley had the worst air quality of any city in the world on Monday afternoon, according to <a href="https://www.iqair.com/world-air-quality">Swiss-based air quality tracker IQ Air</a>. Air Quality Index (AQI) which measures the concentration of tiny suspended particles in the air smaller than 2.5 microns hit 250 because of soot particles from smoke combined with pre-existing pollution from vehicular and industrial emissions.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250331110320_6ea6ed9ab5fceefd0b46e5ba59222eefe6f838b475a75a5ec2c12598ffccb6eb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250331110320_6ea6ed9ab5fceefd0b46e5ba59222eefe6f838b475a75a5ec2c12598ffccb6eb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1896" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="NASA FIRMS 29 March"> <figcaption>More than 200 forest fires are burning in central Nepal with prevailing winds blowing it up the valleys to Pokhara and Kathmandu, worsening air quality. This NASA FIRMS satellite image was taken on Sunday afternoon.</figcaption> </figure>  This was ten times higher than what the World Health Organization (WHO) has set as the threshold for healthy air. The microscopic particles cannot be seen by the naked eye and can jump the blood-air divide in capillaries in the lungs causing not just lung infections but also heart disease and cancer.&nbsp; The immediate effects of air pollution are felt in dry and burning eyes, itchy throats, difficulty breathing, headaches, and dizziness. In the longer term, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a major cause of death in Nepal, with the average life expectancy of Kathmandu’s residents has been reduced by 3.5 years.&nbsp; Despite studies, Nepal’s leaders are preoccupied with coalition politics, and little action has been taken to control vehicular emissions with green stickers, curb open garbage burning and industrial pollution. Studies have shown that in winter 60% of the air pollution over Kathmandu is transboundary from the south, and in November it is compounded by crop residue burning by farmers in India and Pakistan which prevailing winds blow up the Himalayan mountains.&nbsp; Forest fires are common in Nepal in the pre-monsoon months as farmers and herders set fire to slopes hoping for green shoots when the rains arrive for their livestock. But successive years of winter drought have meant that the wildfires have been starting earlier, and they spread fast because of high afternoon winds this time of year.&nbsp; On 29 March, there were at least 200 fires burning across central Nepal. The FIRMS satellite image also shows thick blue smoke blanketing the river valleys, reducing visibility and affecting flights. On Monday morning three flights attempting to land at Kathmandu airport had to divert due to runway visibility being below minimum.&nbsp; This level of pollution is classified as ‘extremely unhealthy, and &nbsp;has serious health impact not only on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/poisoning-children-at-school">vulnerable groups</a> like children, the elderly, and those who live with health conditions, but across Kathmandu’s population.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250331110324_b0f149ef5fc3f2657e883c311520b87d45e9636a7464ab418c691dd2bb6f6c7a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250331110324_b0f149ef5fc3f2657e883c311520b87d45e9636a7464ab418c691dd2bb6f6c7a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1778" loading="lazy" alt="Pokhara Wildfire NT"> <figcaption>A fiery sunset over Phewa Lake in Pokhara on Sunday afternoon was caused by thick smoke from forest fires. Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption> </figure>  After the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-revenge-of-the-rivers"> devastating September floods last year,</a> Kathmandu Valley and much of the country experienced a prolonged drought with little to no winter rain. Such prolonged dry spells raises fire risk, and with Kathmandu’s bowl-shaped topography concentrates pollutants. There are indications that high pollution levels do not just harm human health, but are also beginning to affect tourism. Operators in Pokhara said that there were many negative online posts by visitors unable to see the famous panorama of Machapuchre and the Annapurnas even from Sarangkot. Aviation is also affected, as planes have to circle sometimes for hours burning fuel for visibility to get better at Kathmandu airport. The higher fuel cost is just passed down to customers, making air tickets in and out of Kathmandu some of the highest in the world.&nbsp; Kathmandu’s toxic air quality is not a temporary phenomenon, it has consistently gotten worse. IQ Air places Kathmandu eighth out of 121 capital cities with the worst air quality in 2024, and Nepal is seventh among countries with the highest air pollution. The State of Global Air (SOGA) Report published last June <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bad-air-and-polluted-politics">revealed </a>more than 50,000 Nepalis died from air pollution in 2021, accounting for 19% of all mortality, just behind high blood pressure. Kathmandu, with a population of four million, has not implemented a concrete policy to curb toxic air despite having formulated various action plans and repeated commitments by the government to protect the environment and control air pollution. The Department of Environment’s &nbsp;2017 Air Quality Management Action Plan for Kathmandu put forward a policy to reduce air pollution caused by vehicles which was approved by the Cabinet, but has yet to be put to practice. The action included the immediate implementation of the Euro 5 emission standard to reduce pollution emitted by vehicles. But Nepal has not even been able to implement Euro 4 standards so far. India, meanwhile, has already moved forward with the implementation of the Euro 6 standards.&nbsp;

No smoke without fire

Kathmandu ground to a halt on Friday as pro- and anti-monarchy protests rocked separate parts of the capital. While the Socialist Front led by the Maoist Centre Party held a large rally in the centre of the city, a group agitating to reinstate Nepal as a Hindu kingdom gathered on the outskirts.&nbsp; The two rallies were kept apart, but pro-monarchy protesters resorted to arson and looting, setting fire to buildings in the Tinkune neighbourhood and attacking newspaper offices, party buildings and ransacking a branch of the Bhatbhateni department store. Police fired tear gas and live rounds after stone pelting protesters tried to prevent fire trucks from trying to put out blazes. One protester and a reporter died and 22 people, including several riot policemen, were injured.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_10a340ec54625655b84320e9708349f32ae410ebd66dc2e9006d74c26e24e723.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250328130336_10a340ec54625655b84320e9708349f32ae410ebd66dc2e9006d74c26e24e723" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_4095596005d5c744222ed813ef2621c887fec3f3d8cb99b0580f9f4e241bdd55.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250328130336_4095596005d5c744222ed813ef2621c887fec3f3d8cb99b0580f9f4e241bdd55" data-rendition-name="original" width="1810" height="1207" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_b64ae8a70d36a7a2bbc4d9f4f51344a92531a735f653dd25f97700e170b7f12c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250328130336_b64ae8a70d36a7a2bbc4d9f4f51344a92531a735f653dd25f97700e170b7f12c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>  The pro-monarchy rally was organised by the United People’s Movement Committee for the Restoration of the Monarchy, which had the support of the royalist RPP party and was led by business tycoon Durga Prasai and the 86-year-old former Panchayat politician Nawaraj Subedi.&nbsp; The government had assigned both the protesting groups separate parts of the city so as to minimise chances of confrontation. The pro-monarchy rally turned violent after Prasai broke through police cordons with his vehicle, with supporters following. Across town, a much larger flag-waving crowd marched through the streets and gathered to listen to speeches by leaders of the Socialist Front made up of Maoist Centre, the CPN- Unified Socialists, the Nepal Samajwadi Party and the Communist Party of Nepal led by a breakaway Maoist faction of Netra Bikram Chand.&nbsp; The Socialist Front is in the opposition and has blamed the rise of royalists to the non-performance of Prime Minister K P Oli’s governing coalition. The Maoists were till last year in their own coalition with the Nepali Congress, until it joined up with Oli’s UML.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_36c4b5cd97720a86d4cc65d680211644bbdd23ba9d872ca33ecde56cf7a83bd8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250328130336_36c4b5cd97720a86d4cc65d680211644bbdd23ba9d872ca33ecde56cf7a83bd8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1772" height="1181" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_6598409e322e0680bb01e00306842343642ee662a6f95e0d097478c0517879c3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20250328130336_6598409e322e0680bb01e00306842343642ee662a6f95e0d097478c0517879c3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1933" height="1288" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;“This country cannot return to autocratic, dynastic rule that destroyed our nation,” said former prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal of the UML-US. “The Nepali people have no interest in being servants to anybody.” Speakers accused the monarchists of getting support from elements of the Hindu-right in India. Former king Gyanendra had met Uttar Pradesh’s cleric Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath several times in the past year, and posters with the Yogi have been seen at previous royalist rallies. Chronic corruption, impunity, poor service delivery and lack of jobs has fed public anger at the three established parties that have taken turns to rule Nepal for the past 20 years or more.&nbsp; Adding fuel to the fire was the sacking this week of the popular head of the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) Kulman Ghising, and his replacement by the prime minister’s brother-in-law, Hitendra Dev Shakya. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_340647eb1ac3e611a7fe9ea5cabe6bc280ec02fd9162e1fdce81a3c7101b6072.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250328130336_340647eb1ac3e611a7fe9ea5cabe6bc280ec02fd9162e1fdce81a3c7101b6072" data-rendition-name="original" width="1872" height="1179" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_b0e1012e17637ceebf2611db796ae745d274636583974f7595b4ab79670b5c37.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250328130336_b0e1012e17637ceebf2611db796ae745d274636583974f7595b4ab79670b5c37" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>  In his speech Maoist chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal seemed more introspective and moderated his criticism of the current government.&nbsp; “Perhaps it is because we republicans were unable to live up to the expectations of the people that the forces that were buried in the rubble of history have dared raise their heads once again today,” Dahal told the crowd.&nbsp; While these speeches were going on, tension was escalating in Tinkune as pro-monarchists trashed and set fire to an office block, the office of the CPN-Unified Socialists, vandalised the Annapurna Media building, and attempted to break into the offices of the Maoist Centre. &nbsp;&nbsp; A curfew was imposed in Tinkune and surrounding areas, affecting travellers entering and leaving Kathmandu. Nearby Kathmandu airport was closed for two hours.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_b9d567d96a519dfdf7627ca9bf372a441b47a5f7dc709df94e2042274da1fe23.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250328130336_b9d567d96a519dfdf7627ca9bf372a441b47a5f7dc709df94e2042274da1fe23" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_277512a9bff76fd425e964f41854f7abd835ce3f38b68e95ec8a4cdd3d4e10c5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20250328130336_277512a9bff76fd425e964f41854f7abd835ce3f38b68e95ec8a4cdd3d4e10c5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_aa52420cd50c238a9cbd7d49855fbd45586098a92dba14f1b5ef3dfad43293b0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250328130336_aa52420cd50c238a9cbd7d49855fbd45586098a92dba14f1b5ef3dfad43293b0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1722" height="1144" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>  Royalist morale was boosted earlier this month to welcome former king Gyanendra to Kathmandu from a trip to western Nepal. Gyanendra has been king twice, and was ousted when an elected Constituent Assembly voted to abolish the monarchy in 2008. In 2015 Nepal’s new Constitution officially declared the country a secular federal republic. Royalists like former BBC journalist Rabindra Mishra have been exhorting the Nepal Army and Police to join the protests to reinstate the king, which many have described as provocative and dangerous rhetoric. Earlier this month Mishra told an Indian tv channel that New Delhi should support the reinstatement of a Hindu monarchy in Nepal.&nbsp; Indian leaders including External Affairs Ministry S Jaishankar have reportedly told Nepal’s leaders that they do not want to interfere in the country’s internal affairs. As tensions escalated on Friday, Mishra absolved himself and the pro-monarchy protesters of responsibility for the casualties and property damage.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_fef2e6aee4a59e2fbec96bba5814af5c18a9390b532fd6cb8d7cb62e86441cdf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250328130336_fef2e6aee4a59e2fbec96bba5814af5c18a9390b532fd6cb8d7cb62e86441cdf" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_a70af2ece39b52108f32560e0a4c06a1ed7cd95e6f0c1c23121e8951b5525cdc.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250328130336_a70af2ece39b52108f32560e0a4c06a1ed7cd95e6f0c1c23121e8951b5525cdc" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250328130336_8d5ab4cbabb4d1ab9bc2fa94711168ea1dc854297b5a427a2030536bc87db75c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250328130336_8d5ab4cbabb4d1ab9bc2fa94711168ea1dc854297b5a427a2030536bc87db75c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Pro-monarchy protests 28 March NT"> </figure>  “No mass movements are under the control of its leaders,” said Mishra. “The government must take responsibility for the loss of life and property incurred today.” Despite the tough words, Nepal’s royalist bloc seems to lack a unified front. The RPP’s Rajendra Lingden and RPP-Nepal’s Kamal Thapa have distanced themselves from Prasai.&nbsp; Gyanendra himself appears to be content to ride what he thinks is a wave of public support, and leave the organising to his supporters. He has so far not spoken in public except occasional video appearances. One thing the pro-monarchy protests have done is restore a semblance of unity among the fractious three main parties. Top leaders of the NC, UML and Maoists met earlier this week to chart a response to the royalists, indicating that they are aware of the public mood and are rattled by the scale of support for the former king. Friday’s protests should serve as a stark reminder to Nepal’s serial prime ministers and their parties that if they do not step up and do their job, street protests could escalate.

street-protests