The arson and vandalism carried out during the GenZ protests on Sept 9 caused extensive damage to 29 government offices across Sunsari district, with losses estimated at well over Rs 1.27bon, according to the district administration.
Chief District Officer (CDO) Dharmendra Kumar Mishra said a committee led by Assistant CDO Lokman Shrestha conducted on-site inspections and submitted a detailed assessment of the damage. Mishra said Itahari Sub-metropolitan City has suffered the most. Government offices including the Koshi Province Traffic Police Office, Transport Management Office, Driving License Office, Inland Revenue Office, Revenue Investigation Office, Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority’s (CIAA) Regional Office, and several police units sustained major losses.
The Itahari Sub-metropolitan City offices alone reported damages worth Rs 350m. Other key losses include: Koshi Province Traffic Police Office (Rs 100m), Internal Revenue Office (Rs 110m), Revenue Investigation Office (Rs 117m), Transport Management Office (Rs 100m), Driver’s License Office (Rs 25m), and CIAA Regional Office (Rs 70m).
Similarly, the Area Police Office Itahari suffered damages worth Rs 70m, while the Area Police Office Pokali incurred Rs 20m in losses. Smaller police posts across Khanar, Jhumka, Halgada, Bharaul, and Dharan also reported varying levels of damage. Losses were also recorded in several local government offices as well, including Bhokraha Narsingh Rural Municipality (Rs 89.2m), Koshi Rural Municipality (Rs 17.3m), Barahakshetra Municipality (Rs 2m), Duhabi Municipality (Rs 46.7m), Ramdhuni Municipality (Rs 12.3m), Gadhi Rural Municipality (Rs 50m), and Inaruwa Municipality (Rs 91m),
CDO Mishra said besides office buildings, there has been extensive damage to files, furniture, computers, and vehicles. “The state’s property is the people’s property,” he said. “Such acts of burning and vandalism in the name of agitation have harmed not just the administration, but also ordinary citizens.” Mishra added that damage reports have been sent to the provincial and federal governments, and that temporary arrangements are being made to reopen affected offices.
Sunsari Police Chief Keshav Kumar Thebe said that the activities of the lawless group had undermined the rule of law. He added that those involved in vandalizing government property are being identified and will face legal action.
The Koshi Province Traffic Police Office (Highway Safety and Traffic Management Office) in Itahari, destroyed by arson, remains non-operational, creating severe challenges in traffic regulation across the province.
Laxmi Baniya, central member of the Nepal Transport Independent Workers’ Organization, said that in a busy city like Itahari, having the main traffic control office inactive has increased vehicle pressure and accident risks.
“Since the fire, we have been operating from the garage of the burnt building and rented rooms. We have no proper place to work or even rest,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Giri, head of the Koshi Traffic Office.
Preparations are underway to temporarily shift the Area Police Office, Itahari, which was also burnt, to the Itahari Stadium area. However, there has been little progress or interest in reconstructing the traffic office. As a result, 78 traffic police officers are struggling—18 of them are forced to sleep in the same room that was burned during the attack, while others have rented private rooms. “We have no proper place to work or rest. We are running operations from the garage of the burnt office,” said SP Giri.
Former Itahari Civil Society President Raju KC has demanded that the government immediately reconstruct and reopen the traffic office. He emphasized that traffic management is a matter of daily public safety, and ignoring it reflects irresponsibility on the part of the concerned authorities.
