Finance Ministry loses ‘Prefab’ building, dozens of vehicles in Gen Z protests
The Prefab Building housing the Budget Department was completely destroyed, while 16 four-wheeled vehicles, 36 motorcycles, and 18 scooters owned by the ministry were fully damaged.
KATHMANDU: During the recent Gen Z protests, Nepal’s Ministry of Finance suffered extensive damage, according to preliminary assessments.
The Prefab Building housing the Budget Department was completely destroyed, while 16 four-wheeled vehicles, 36 motorcycles, and 18 scooters owned by the ministry were fully damaged.
Several offices under the Department of Inland Revenue, including those in Damak, Itahari, Biratnagar, Lahan, Janakpur, Simara, Hetauda, Birgunj, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Dang, Dhangadhi, Dadeldhura, and Pokhara, were completely destroyed. Offices in Krishnanagar, Dhulikhel, Ilam, and Sindhuli suffered partial damage.
Customs offices in Mechi, Bhadrapur, Kailali, and Janakpur were fully damaged, while those in Biratnagar, Nepalgunj, Bhairahawa, and Thandi experienced partial damage, according to Ministry of Finance spokesperson Tank Prasad Pandey.
Additionally, seven offices under the Office of the Auditor General—including three in the Kathmandu Valley and four outside—suffered structural damage.
Despite the extensive destruction, the Ministry of Finance and its subordinate agencies have resumed services.
Spokesperson Pandey stated, “A high-level management meeting was held to restore disrupted services and revenue collection following the protests on Bhadra 23 and 24, 2082 BS. Core IT systems related to budgeting, payments, and revenue management at the Ministry of Finance, Auditor General’s Office, Inland Revenue Department, and Customs Department remain secure. Payment systems, previously halted from Bhadra 23, have now been reinstated.”
Services at customs offices resumed from Bhadra 26, and online services of the Inland Revenue Department have remained uninterrupted.
Most physical services from the Ministry and its departments were restored starting Sunday.
The Ministry continues to assess the full extent of damages and has begun cleaning and preparing damaged offices for service delivery under the leadership of office chiefs.
For offices with damaged vehicles, internal coordination between departments will ensure emergency vehicle availability, as arranged by respective directors.
Departments have also been instructed to safeguard operational IT systems and take all necessary steps to facilitate uninterrupted service delivery.
