The Gandaki Provincial Assembly’s proceedings have been disrupted for nearly one and a half months following the damage caused to the provincial assembly building during the Gen-Z movement protests.
The last assembly meeting was held on Bhadra 16 (early September). Since then, two meetings were called, but both were postponed at the last minute. There is still no fixed date for the next session.
The meeting scheduled for Bhadra 25 could not take place after Gen-Z demonstrators vandalized and set fire to the assembly building the previous day. Due to the tense situation after the protests, the session was indefinitely postponed.
A meeting was later planned for last Wednesday at the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Management, and Cooperatives’ meeting hall, but it was also called off at the last moment, citing technical reasons. The Secretariat announced that the meeting was postponed until further notice.
Speaker Krishna Prasad Dhital said the postponement was due to a lack of technical preparations, as the assembly had to be relocated to a new venue. “Since the meeting has to be held in a new place, necessary administrative and technical preparations are required. The session will now be held only after Tihar,” he stated.
The postponed meeting was expected to include clause-wise discussions and possible approval of bills related to cannabis cultivation and mining/minerals. The delay in the assembly’s sessions has consequently slowed down the law-making process.
As the old provincial assembly building and its structures were completely destroyed by fire and cannot be reused, the assembly is currently operating from the Ministry of Agriculture’s building as a temporary arrangement. A new provincial assembly building is under construction, and all activities will continue from temporary structures until its completion.
During the Gen-Z protests, demonstrators vandalized and set fire to the assembly building, nearby offices, and vehicles. The main assembly hall, built in a traditional wooden and stone architectural style, was completely destroyed in the fire, along with the Secretariat office, subject committee offices, and parliamentary party offices.
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