Nepal’s Gen Z protesters lead clean-up campaign after violent clashes
Young volunteers have been clearing rubble and repairing vandalised fixtures as they seek to restore the protest movement’s peaceful message
Since Wednesday, volunteers – mostly in their teens and twenties – have been seen clearing rubble, burnt debris and shattered glass from roads surrounding the federal parliament in New Baneshwar, where violence peaked during the unrest.
Photos and videos posted to social media show groups of young people with brooms and sacks, sweeping pavements and collecting rubbish as early as dawn.
The clean-up campaign follows nearly a week of demonstrations that began on September 4 after the government moved to ban 26 social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube and TikTok.
Protesters said the restrictions were a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissent, sparking a broader movement against corruption and elite privilege that tapped into long-simmering frustration over youth unemployment and inequality.
Though the ban was quickly rescinded, the protests intensified and turned violent. Seventy-two people were killed and at least 2,113 injured in clashes across the country as of Sunday, according to Nepal’s Ministry of Health.
In Kathmandu, where students and jobless youth led marches under banners reading “Shut down corruption, not social media”, the streets have since taken on a different character.
Volunteers began mobilising last week to restore damaged areas, particularly in protest flashpoints where looting and arson had left parts of the city in disarray.