Karnali Province Government Fails to Rebuild Infrastructure Seven Months After Protests

Surkhet. During the Gen-Z protests on Bhadra 24, the Karnali Provincial Assembly was completely destroyed by arson. The residences of the Chief Minister and the Minister of Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives were reduced to ashes. The Provincial Treasury and Comptroller Office and other structures also suffered partial damage.

Ironically, seven months have passed, and repair and reconstruction work on these structures has not even begun. The provincial government, which became sluggish after the Gen-Z protests, has been unable to focus on repairing its own damaged infrastructure.

The protests caused a total economic loss of 78,150,156.35 Rupees to the Karnali provincial government. According to the government's assessment, the Provincial Assembly building alone suffered the highest damage, amounting to 39,416,394 Rupees.

Similarly, the Treasury and Comptroller Office was also damaged. An employee stated that although the building needs repairs, no work has been done yet.

Provincial Assembly Operating from Temporary Building, No Focus on Reconstruction

The main assembly hall was burnt to ashes. Not only was the building housing the offices of the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chief Minister, Secretary, and opposition leaders destroyed, but the main hall itself was ruined. The building used for important events like convocation ceremonies and Zoom meetings was also incinerated.

All electronic equipment, furniture, and important records in the office were destroyed by the arson. According to Secretary Budhathoki, laptops, computers, live systems, CCTV cameras, projectors, tables, chairs, cupboards, racks, files, and all types of records were burnt to ashes.

Even now, the walls of the building are cracked, the plaster is peeling, and everything is blackened by fire smoke. Some structures have completely collapsed.

According to another employee of the Provincial Assembly, the expenses incurred for temporary operations are also being handled haphazardly. The employee suggests that if those expenses were investigated, one weakness after another would be revealed.

Currently, the Provincial Assembly meetings are being held in the building previously used for important events like convocation ceremonies and Zoom meetings. The Infrastructure Development Directorate stated that approximately 1.7 million Rupees were spent on constructing the temporary building.

Apart from that, Provincial Assembly Information Officer Rajendra Poudel said that no work has started yet regarding the reconstruction or restoration of the main assembly hall.

'Since the government itself is going to build it, it seems some study work has been done from that side,' he said, 'We have done the work of dusting off the ashes and cleaning.'

According to another employee of the Provincial Assembly, the expenses incurred for temporary operations are also being handled haphazardly. The employee suggests that if those expenses were investigated, one weakness after another would be revealed.

'From painting to furniture, even the locally required repair work has been done haphazardly,' the employee said, 'I don't think there has been any discussion about the reconstruction or repair of the main building.'

Ashes of Chief Minister and Agriculture Minister's Residences Remain Untouched

The provincial government is so sluggish that even after seven months, the ashes of the burnt residences of the Chief Minister and the Agriculture Minister have not been cleared.

Minister of Land Management, Agriculture, and Cooperatives Binod Kumar Shah is staying at the Finance Minister's residence. Finance Minister Rajiv Bikram Shah does not live in the official residence; employees used to live there. Shah stated that after the Agriculture Ministry's official residence was burnt, he managed and moved into the Finance Ministry's residence.

The Agriculture Minister's residence is currently being guarded by a ministry assistant. 'Initially, it was said that it would be reconstructed within a few months,' says an official of the Agriculture Ministry, 'But we did not have the budget, and the infrastructure department said they would build it. Who knows why? Even the ashes haven't been cleared yet.'

Similarly, Chief Minister Yamlal Kandel is staying in the quarters of the former Ministry of Internal Affairs and Law. Kandel himself previously headed that ministry. However, a few months ago, that ministry was merged into the Chief Minister's office.

According to a member of the Chief Minister's secretariat, he had said he would stay in his own house after the official residence was destroyed. However, he did not stay there due to security concerns and the deployment of the Nepal Army.

The former Law Ministry residence has 4-5 standard rooms, and Kandel stays there. Incidentally, Chief Minister Kandel's private residence was also burnt by Gen-Z protesters.

The main opposition party in Karnali, the Nepal Communist Party, has been repeatedly raising the issue of repair and reconstruction of the damaged structures in parliament. However, the government has been ignoring it, CPN parliamentary party chief whip Krishna Bahadur GC told Ratopati.

'This government is so incompetent that it cannot even repair important structures like the Provincial Assembly damaged by the Gen-Z protests,' he says, 'What else can we expect?'

Cost Estimation Just Beginning

Surya Bahadur Shahi, head of the Infrastructure Development Directorate under the Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development, said that the work of estimating the costs of the damaged structures is underway.

According to him, cost estimates for four buildings have now been prepared. These include the Chief Minister's residence, the nearby security personnel's residence, the Agriculture Minister's residence, and the Provincial Treasury and Comptroller Office. 'A cost estimate of 12,155,000 Rupees has been made for the repair and reconstruction of these four structures,' he said.

Similarly, no decision has been made yet regarding the repair and reconstruction of the Provincial Assembly.

'A request was made for the upcoming fiscal year,' he said, 'An estimate of 17 million Rupees has been made.' However, it is said that since there is no budget this time, repairs and reconstruction will be done in the next fiscal year.

Work such as preparing notes for the remaining four structures is ongoing. He said, 'After that, we will send it to the ministry for resource assurance.'

Meanwhile, Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Urban Development spokesperson Ramesh Subedi said that there was some delay in the work from the study to the cost estimation.

'We had said that it should be done a bit faster, there was some delay from that side (Directorate),' he added.