Gen Z stage protest in Pokhara despite rain

Amid continuous light rain, young protesters from the Gen Z generation gathered at Pokhara’s exhibition hall and staged a spontaneous protest on Sunday morning.

The demonstrators raised their voices against the government’s decision to shut down social media and accused political leaders of being deeply involved in corruption while ordinary citizens suffer.

Despite the drizzle since early morning, protesters started assembling around 10 AM. Their numbers have been steadily increasing as more young people from different parts of Pokhara joined in. Many carried the Nepali flag, wore raincoats, and held pamphlets and placards.

They shouted slogans such as:

• “People in the Gulf, you in expensive cars, Rolex watches on your wrist.”
• “Suffering people, celebrating corrupt leaders.”
• “You cannot silence the people and shut down freedom.”
• “Corrupt leaders, beware.”

Some protesters also targeted Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in their chants, while others urged the group not to single out names to avoid the protest turning violent.

The protesters expressed anger that while citizens pay taxes and struggle in daily life, politicians and their families live in luxury. Paras Parajuli, one of the participants, said the youth came to the streets because current leaders have ignored their generation.

“If we remain silent, nothing will ever change. We will have to keep living like this forever. This movement is to make leaders realize that the new generation exists and will not remain quiet. We request everyone not to politicize it,” he said.

Another protester, Sandesh Baral, who held a placard reading “Stop Corruption,” said, “Leaders always underestimate us, thinking we don’t care about the country. But we are aware, we understand everything, and we know who is responsible.”

To prevent the situation from escalating, a large number of security forces were deployed around the protest site.