Nepal Gen Z Protest: Indigo, Spicejet Cancel Kathmandu Flights Balendra Shah Now Next PM As Oli Resigns?

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A day after 19 people were killed in deadly 'Gen Z' protests, Nepal Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned from his post, and the demonstrators set the parliament ablaze.

As the turmoil continues, harrowing visuals from Nepal show billows of smoke coming out of the parliament.

Another footage showed the country's ex-Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife, Arzu Rana Deuba, the foreign minister, being assaulted by protesters.

Both were left bleeding from the alleged beating, while one video showed the party leader being helped to safety.

Here's all you need to know about Nepal Genz Z protest in 10 points:

1. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned from his post on Tuesday afternoon, a source from his secretariat confirmed. In his resignation letter, Oli said that he had stepped down to allow "steps towards a political solution".

Three Nepal ministers had resigned earlier, amid criticism of the government's violent response to the students-led protests, according to the Kathmandu Post.

2. Protests - called the protest of Gen Z - began on Monday with demands that the government lift a ban on social media and tackle corruption. At least 19 people were killed and hundreds injured on Monday, following protests by mainly young people.

Last week, Nepal banned several social media platforms that had failed to register with the government, including Facebook, X and YouTube. The government had said the new regulations would prevent fake news, hate speech and cybercrimes.

3. The ban was later scrapped, but the unrest continued on Tuesday as protesters demanded action against poor governance in the country.

4. Although the social media ban triggered this week's unrest, the protests reflect deeper frustrations among Nepal's youth over joblessness and inequality.

As per AFP, videos contrasting the struggles of ordinary Nepalis with the children of politicians flaunting luxury goods and expensive vacations have gone viral on TikTok, which was not blocked.

5. Nepali youth protesters set fire to parliament as the veteran prime minister obeyed furious crowds' demands to quit. Demonstrators also breached the fence and "torched the main building," Ekram Giri, spokesman for the Parliament Secretariat, told AFP.

6. What happens next as PM Oli resigns? It unclear but constitutional lawyer Dipendra Jha told AFP that the protesters and leaders who are trusted by them and the army should come together to pave the way for a caretaker government.

7. Balendra Shah, the 35-year-old engineer-turned-rapper who was elected as Kathmandu's mayor in 2022, and who is seen as a popular figure in the transition ahead, used Facebook to call on people to "be restrained".

Shah, a rapper who studied structural engineering and later became the Mayor of Kathmandu, is a likely contender to succeed, several reports suggested.

8. Nepal Army chief Ashok Raj Sigdel on Tuesday appealed to the protesters to come forward for dialogue in the face of violent protests that continued for a second day even after prime minister K P Sharma Oli's resignation.

9. As India and the US issued a travel advisory , Nepali students in India say they have put their plans to travel home on hold and call up their families repeatedly, fearful of their safety amid the violent protests rattling the Himalayan nation.

10. The Nepal Army on Tuesday took control of the Tribhuvan International Airport in Nepal after the agitators tried to enter its premises in the evening. Flight services at the airport were partially suspended in view of the protests.

11. Air India, SpiceJet and IndiGo are among the airlines that cancelled their flights connecting Kathmandu on Tuesday as the airport in Nepal's capital has been temporarily closed.

IndiGo Airlines announced the suspension of all flights to and from Kathmandu until 12:00 pm on September 10, citing the closure of Kathmandu Airport due to the Gen Z Protest.

Meanwhile, Air India said in a statement on Tuesday, "In view of the current situation prevailing in Kathmandu, the following flights AI2231/2232, AI2219/2220, AI217/218 and AI211/212 operating on the Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi route have been cancelled today. We are closely monitoring the situation and will share further update."

SpiceJet in a post on X said that due to the prevailing situation in Kathmandu, its flights to/from Kathmandu stand cancelled for September 10.

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