Nepal’s Gen Z protesters lead street clean-up after days of violent unrest

Videos circulating on social media show young volunteers repairing broken tiles and clearing litter from public spaces. Protesters were also seen returning items such as refrigerators, microwaves and fans looted by some of the demonstrators.

At least 51 people were killed and more than 1,300 were injured in the nationwide protests that erupted earlier this week after the government tried to shut down popular social media platforms, causing deep anger over corruption and unemployment to boil over.

Among those killed were 21 protesters, nine prisoners, three police personnel and 18 others, police spokesperson Binod Ghim said on Friday.

The protests turned violent as security forces used live bullets, tear gas and batons while demonstrators toppled barricades, looted businesses and set fire to government offices and politicians’ residences.

The protesters also burned the Singha Durbar palace, the seat of the Nepali government, and damaged airports and a TV news station building.

The prime minister and four of his ministers resigned on Tuesday, and the military took over the capital, immediately enforcing a nationwide curfew. The military relaxed the curfew for a few hours on Wednesday to allow people to buy supplies.

A social media video showed a group of young Nepalis repairing broken tiles outside a torched government building while others patched potholes and picked up litter.

Organisers said the clean-up was aimed at showing civic responsibility and signalling that their movement was about rebuilding as much as about protesting.

Similar scenes were witnessed in Bangladesh after protests unseated long-serving prime minister Sheikh Hasina last year. The student-led protests began with a demand to abolish a quota system for government jobs that they said favoured Ms Hasina’s allies and quickly coalesced into a full-scale revolt against her and her Awami League government.

Mr Oli’s resignation and the exodus of senior political figures have left a power vacuum in Nepal. Negotiations to set up an interim government were being held on Friday, with the president, the army and protest leaders all involved in the talks.

The country’s former chief justice Sushila Karki has emerged as a popular choice among the Gen Z protest movement, and a source within the talks told Reuters she is expected to be appointed as interim prime minister as early as Friday.

Meanwhile, the families of those killed in the protests gathered in Kathmandu on Thursday and held a candlelight vigil outside a hospital morgue.

They were demanding state honours and justice for their loved ones. "We need to fight for justice for our family who were killed, and we cannot stay silent any longer," said Kamal Subedi, one of those at the vigil. He said his nephew was killed.

"We have lost our loved ones but politics seem to take priority right. No one has even approached us, so now we are going to fight for justice for the honor they deserve."

Some families were still looking for the bodies of their loved ones. Bhol Bahadur Bishwokarma was seeking information about his brother, Santosh Bishwokarma, who was reportedly killed by police fire.

"We have heard that the body is in the hospital morgue here but no one has confirmed that or in what condition and shape the body is in,” he said.

“We have not even been able to see the body. We demand the government address our concern at the earliest.”