Sudipta Ahmed, a senior sports journalist associated with Desh Rupantor, a Bangladeshi daily, has visited Nepal multiple times. He says he has found Nepal completely different from Bangladesh every time. But on Monday, the protest by Gen Z in Kathmandu caused him a déjà vu of what had happened in Dhaka in July and August last year.

At least 19 protesters were killed and hundreds of others were injured across several cities in Nepal as the government ordered security forces to open fire on youngsters who were demanding an end to corruption.

“What happened today in Kathmandu is similar to what happened in Dhaka last year,” Ahmed told the Post. “Bangladeshi students, who mostly belonged to Gen Z, had started a protest against the quota system, and slowly it covered other wrongdoings from the authorities and led to the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.”

Ahmed continued, “I think the same thing is happening here… Gen Z has young blood. From what I saw, the social media ban by the Nepali government fuelled their anger that had been growing from several other misdoings over the years.”

Alongside Ahmed, over a dozen sports journalists from Bangladesh had arrived in Kathmandu last week to cover the two friendlies between Nepal and Bangladesh’s men’s team scheduled for September 6 and 9.

“The scenario in Nepal today has us all visiting journalists and the football team recalling the incidents of Dhaka last year,” said Ahmed, who is also a vice president at the Bangladesh Sports Press Association. “There were hundreds who died in Bangladesh during the protest because the government made wrong decisions. I hope that the Nepali government takes the right decisions and prevents such carnage here because lives matter, especially that of youngsters.”

Bangladeshi journalists were unaware of the happenings in Nepal. Upon arrival in Kathmandu, they were surprised to find social media like Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp not working. They were unaware about the call for September 8’s protest by Gen Z.

It was why the journalists were in shock when they came across videos of thousands of youngsters marching in Kathmandu when they had arrived at the pre-match conference for the second friendly between Nepal and Bangladesh on Monday afternoon.

“What is this happening?” Ahmed questioned the Post at the conference. “I hope it does not get bad and people do not get hurt. The way hundreds died in Bangladesh last year, I do not want it to repeat here.”

After the conclusion of the conference, the visiting journalists returned to their respective hotels. When they contacted the Bangladesh football team later, they found that they were locked in their hotel under high security.

“The team manager said that the team would not travel for the second friendly unless utmost security was ensured,” Ahmed added. “I also talked with senior officials at the Bangladesh Embassy in Kathmandu to ensure proper safety measures for the team by coordinating with Nepali authorities.”

According to Ahmed, he, other journalists and the Bangladesh football team breathed a sigh of relief when the All Nepal Football Association (ANFA) cancelled the second friendly.

The Nepal-Bangladesh match at Dasharath Stadium on September 9 has been cancelled due to the recent situation in the country, ANFA said in a statement on Monday night.