Authorities impose curfew after serious clash in Simara area

Kathmandu

A strict eight-hour curfew has been enforced in the Simara airport area of Nepal’s Bara district after a violent clash broke out between Gen-Z protesters and CPN-UML supporters on Wednesday. Officials said the curfew began at mid-day and will stay in place to prevent further unrest. It covers 500 metres on both sides of the Gandak canal–Pathlaiya road and the area around Simara airport. All flights between Kathmandu and Simara have been stopped for safety reasons.

The clash started when Gen-Z youths protested upon hearing that senior UML leaders were arriving at the airport. UML General Secretary Shankar Pokharel and leader Mahesh Basnet were scheduled to fly to Parwanipur for a programme, which triggered the demonstrations.

Tensions have been high since Prime Minister Sushila Karki recommended dissolving the House of Representatives on September 12, following the nationwide Gen-Z movement that turned violent. The protests on September 8 and 9 left at least 78 people dead. The Karki administration has been tasked with holding snap polls on March 5.

The dissolved UML parliamentary party decided on Tuesday that restoring Parliament was essential and moved to file a writ petition in the Supreme Court. Over a dozen similar petitions are already under hearing. The UML, the former House’s second-largest party, assigned Mahesh Bartaula and Sunita Baral to represent it. Bartaula argued that appointing ex-chief justice Karki as prime minister violated constitutional rules and called the House dissolution undemocratic. The party seeks Parliament’s reinstatement to reverse this “anti-democratic step.”