Youth Anger, Protests, and the Tragedy of a Ride-Hailing Driver in Nepal
Last year, those Gen-Z protests really shook things up in Nepal. They ended with the former Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, stepping down.
Now, a fresh wave of youth anger is hitting PM Balendra Shah’s government. It feels like something else entirely.
Shah himself came to power riding that tide strong support from the Rastriya Swatantra Party , winning nearly two-thirds majority in the House of Representatives. But now, the criticism isn't just about policy anymore. It’s about something much darker, tied directly to a death.
We’re talking about a 25-year-old ride-hailing driver who recently died by self-immolation. This happened after a confrontation with municipal police.
The protests escalated again this week. Hundreds of young people took to the streets on Sunday outside the Singhdurbar Secretariat in Kathmandu. They were demanding accountability, action. They wanted something from the government, right now.
What sparked this latest wave? The death of Ganesh Nepali. He was a driver for Pathao, working on those ride-hailing platforms.
Reports suggest things got really ugly. Nepali allegedly tried to commit suicide outside the Department of Passports office in Kathmandu on Thursday. Why? Because police locked the wheel of his parked motorcycle over some alleged parking violation.
It wasn’t just a simple stop. It sounds like an argument. He was there waiting for his next booking, parked outside the Department of Passports in Tripureshwar. Police and CCTV footage showed municipal officers asking him to move the bike. Then it turned into something else. An argument. Nearly two hours, some reports say, over that 1,000 Nepali rupee parking fine.
And then he allegedly took petrol from his motorcycle. Poured it on himself. Set himself on fire.
Police personnel intervened, tried to put out the flames. But poor Ganesh Nepali suffered terrible burn injuries. He was rushed to Bir Hospital, where he ultimately died.
After that happened, things shifted again. His family, friends, and supporters gathered outside the hospital on Saturday. They weren't asking for sympathy alone. They were demanding justice.
The protesters felt the state machinery was completely insensitive. It ignored the struggles of poor people, working-class citizens. They demanded an independent investigation into everything that went down.
This anger boiled over. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City and Nepali’s family ended up reaching a nine-point aGreement on Sunday. There was some kind of deal struck. An independent probe committee would be formed. And personnel involved in the incident? Suspension during the investigation, they decided.
The government itself moved too. They set up a five-member probe committee. Govinda Thapaliya, Deputy Inspector General of Police, was put in charge to look into the circumstances of this rider’s self-immolation.
But political leaders weren't silent about it. Opposition lawmakers started throwing shade. They accused the government of adopting a really harsh approach towards ordinary citizens.
Bishnu Bahadur Bishwakarma, a lawmaker from the Nepali Communist Party, spoke out in the National Assembly. He blamed the government’s entire handling of the situation for the tragedy.
“This cruel government,” he said, “which forced a citizen to commit suicide, it has no right to stay in power.”
Basana Thapa, the Nepali Congress chief whip, echoed that sentiment in the House of Representatives. He stated plainly: “The government failed to protect the lives of its citizens.”
All this action the protests, the demands, the investigations it just underlines how much pressure is on the Balen Shah administration. It’s a massive challenge. Remember how popular he was among young voters after that whole Gen-Z political movement reshaped Nepal? Well, now they are seeing the real cost of power.
Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board
Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.
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