Governor Poudel bemoans destruction of two homes in Tuesday’s protest

KATHMANDU: Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) Governor Biswo Nath Poudel has shared a deeply personal account of the destruction of his two homes—one in Chitwan and another in Bhaisepati, Lalitpur—during Tuesday’s violent protests.

In a social media post on Wednesday, Poudel recounted how the house in Bhaisepati, built on five-and-a-half ana of land before he became Vice Chairperson of the National Planning Commission (NPC), held immense sentimental value for his family. Despite being the Governor, he and his family chose to live there because his wife and nine-year-old daughter loved it.

The residence, he wrote, was modest in size but rich in meaning. “The upper floor was filled with books, historic memorabilia I collected from eBay, artworks from my travels, statues of deities, Vietnamese silk paintings, even a bust of Mao Zedong,” Poudel said. Among the possessions lost was a rare biography of Jung Bahadur Rana’s partner Laura Bell, one of only 500 copies printed, he wrote in the post.

He described how vandals smashed family photographs, including those of his parents and young daughter, and set them ablaze. His daughter’s most cherished item, a toy with a protective mantra given by a monk at Kapan Monastery, was also destroyed.

“My wife and daughter had to spend the night in a neighbor’s house, while I took shelter elsewhere. That day, we all became ‘refugees’,” he wrote.

Poudel added that he always tried to come home early to put his daughter to bed and rarely attended late dinners. “That night was different,” he reflected.

The Governor said neighbors told him the house burned for hours because of the books and clothes inside, while groups of people occasionally returned to throw stones and loot belongings.

“I shared the video of my burning house to make people aware. What more is there to discuss? A new government is being formed,” Poudel wrote.

He also rejected any allegations of corruption. “If anyone has proof that I took or asked for even two rupees from anyone, they should report it. Everyone knows the circumstances under which I took the post of Governor,” Paudel added in his post.

Earlier, he shared a post recalling how his house in Chitwan, built by his father while he was still a student, was vandalized by protesters. The house belonged to his octogenarian parents.