Kathmandu. All but seven of the 28 stores of Bhatbhateni Supermarkets were damaged in the fire caused by the Genji agitation on Tuesday. Stores in various parts of the country including Kathmandu were damaged during the protest on Tuesday.

Bhatbhateni Store had provided employment to thousands of youths on a full-time basis. Chairman Min Bahadur Gurung said that the main challenge at present is to manage the employees working in the stores which are unable to come into operation.

Out of 28 stores in Bhatbhateni, 12 were completely set on fire. According to Panu Poudel, COO of Bhatbhateni, the warehouses at Bhatbhateni, Maharajgunj, Bouddha, Koteshwor, Baluwatar, stores in Pokhara, Chitwan, Hetauda, Birtamode, Damak, Biratnagar and Dharan were completely destroyed by the vandalism.

Likewise, most of the goods were looted by vandalizing Kalanki, Thimi, Balaju, Janakpur, Butwal, Birgunj, Dhangadhi, Itahari and Bhairahawa. Of the remaining seven cities, Tokha, Satdobato, Anamnagar, Sanagaun, Tripureshwor, Patan and Nepalgunj have not been vandalized. Bhatbhateni said it will take at least two to three weeks to get the details of the damage.