King Birendra’s statue reinstalled in Nepalgunj after 20 years

In Nepalgunj, a statue of King Birendra has been reinstalled after 20 years. The statue, which was removed during the second people’s movement in 2062-63 due to vandalism, was placed at 2 AM last night.

Royalists had been consistently pressuring to reinstall King Birendra’s statue at Dhamboji Chowk. There had been attempts to reinstall it forcibly on one or two occasions, but police, under the direction of leaders supported by the then-government, had been preventing it. Now, under the leadership of the Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City, the statue has been reinstalled.

Following the decision to reinstall the statue, leaders from parties that support the monarchy gathered at Birendra Chowk at night. Rishiraj Devkota, a leader from the Rastriya Prajatantra Party (RPP) who had been persistently advocating for the statue’s reinstallation, expressed his happiness at the statue’s return after 20 years.

The Nepalgunj Sub-Metropolitan City has been reinstalling statues of leaders and martyrs that were vandalized during the Gen Z rebellion, and King Birendra’s statue is part of this initiative. Most of the statues at various chowks in Nepalgunj have been reinstalled. During the Gen Z rebellion, statues of BP, Pushpalal, Ganeshman, and martyr Setu Vik were vandalized, and all have now been reinstalled.

The statue of King Tribhuvan, which was also vandalized during the second people’s movement, had already been reinstalled. The half-sized statue that was temporarily placed at the time is now being replaced, with royalists pushing for a new statue there as well.

Mayor Prashant Bista stated that all historical statues that had been vandalized during various movements have now been reinstalled.