Arson-destroyed Bhatbhateni headquarters in Tangal to reopen tomorrow
The Bhatbhateni Super Store in Tangal, destroyed by arson during the Gen Z movement on Bhadra 24 last year, is set to officially reopen on Monday. The company has already reopened 10 of the 12 stores damaged in the arson, with the remaining two expected to open soon.
Kathmandu — The Bhatbhateni Super Store in Tangal, which was destroyed by arson during the Gen Z movement on Bhadra 24 last year, is set to officially reopen on Monday.
According to company Chairman and Managing Director Min Bahadur Gurung, all preparations are complete to reopen the store on Monday. On that day, 12 stores across the country, including in Kathmandu, were set on fire and destroyed.
Chairman Gurung informed that the headquarters is being reopened one year after the arson. “Despite suffering such a huge loss, the company did not neglect its business activities and responsibility towards employees,” he said. “We did not let the employment of more than 10,000 employees working at Bhatbhateni be affected.”
According to him, no employees were laid off, and their roles were continued in the reopened stores without cutting even the Dashain bonus they would have received right after Bhadra 24 last year.
Gurung recalled rising from the hot ashes. “There was pain in our hearts, tears in our eyes, and the stores in front of us were burning, but we did not forget our duty to the state, our duty to employees, and the contribution Bhatbhateni made during times of earthquake, COVID, and other crises. And we reached a conclusion—we will rise again from the ashes,” he said. “We started work within a week, clearing the hot ashes, hot iron, and hot bricks.”
According to Panu Poudel, Chief Operating Officer of Bhatbhateni Super Market, all preparations are complete. The completely burnt store in Koteshwor was reopened five months after the arson.
“Gradually rebuilding the partially burnt buildings one after another, we have so far succeeded in reopening 10 of the 12 stores destroyed by arson,” Chairman Gurung said. “We believe the remaining two stores are in the final stage of reconstruction and will reopen soon.”
According to him, necessary structural work, equipment management, and internal construction are ongoing at the stores in Damak and Hetauda. The company aims to quickly resume customer service from these stores as well. Quality and long-term operation have also been considered in the reconstruction.
He said that although the reconstruction of completely burnt stores is naturally a process requiring significant time, resources, and investment, they succeeded in providing services to customers again by continuing work 24 hours a day.