KATHMANDU: Youth activist Miraj Dhungana has linked the incident involving 25-year-old driver Dawa Lama, who was accused of setting fire to a bus in Tripureshwor, to what he describes as a growing sense of despair among Nepal’s youth.
Lama was injured on Monday when a Riddhi Siddhi Yatayat bus caught fire at a bus stop in Tripureshwor. Based on a preliminary investigation, police have indicated that Lama may have set the bus ablaze himself. Further investigation into the cause and circumstances of the incident is underway.
In a video posted on social media following the incident, Dhungana said such events should not be viewed solely in terms of an individual or the immediate circumstances surrounding an incident. He called for greater attention to the underlying factors that could drive a 25-year-old—an age at which many young people are expected to be building their futures—to take such an extreme step.
Dhungana pointed to unemployment, low incomes, limited economic opportunities, political instability, social insecurity, and uncertainty about the future as factors contributing to what he described as “extreme Nepali despair.”
He argued that when economic and social pressures intersect, individual distress can deepen and contribute to a broader sense of hopelessness within society. For that reason, he said, incidents such as this should not be viewed solely as personal matters, but also considered in the wider context of how young people perceive their prospects and future in Nepal.
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