Plumber from Kendrapada district recounts chaos on Kathmandu streets

Rourkela: Sushant Mahalik, a 45-year-old plumber from Balikati village in Aul block of Kendrapada district, who resides in Kathmandu, recounted how demonstrators set fire to the residence and vehicles of former Nepal finance minister Prakash Sharan Mahat on Sept 8.

Mahalik captured the incident on his mobile phone from behind the minister’s house — just a minute’s walk from his rented home.

Mahalik, who moved to Kathmandu 15 years ago, lives with his wife and two school-going sons, aged 15 and 13. “Around 3:30 pm, I heard loud shouting near our street and saw thick smoke rising from the minister’s house. Protesters had poured petrol and set the house and four cars ablaze. I rushed to the back of the property and recorded the fire and smoke on my phone,” he told TOI over phone. “We even heard loud explosions as car batteries burst in the flames. The entire house was gutted.”


He described how protesters were burning tyres on the streets and chaos spreading rapidly. “Our landlord advised us to stay indoors. The atmosphere in Kathmandu was absolutely frightening,” Mahalik added.

Since the Gen Z-led protests erupted, Mahalik and several other Odia plumbers in Kathmandu have been unable to find work. “Shops and markets are shut. There’s no income, and prices of essentials — especially vegetables — have skyrocketed. We’re struggling to survive,” he said. “I don’t know how to buy food for my family. We want to return home, but there’s no transport and we don’t have money to travel.”

Mahalik appealed to the Odisha government and the Government of India to intervene and support stranded workers. “My elder brother and sister-in-law back home are deeply worried for us,” he said.