KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Sushila Karki has announced that she will not be receiving Dashain Tika this year.

Despite Dashain being a festival of joy and celebration, she said the tragic loss of young lives during the recent Gen Z movement has left deep sorrow, making it inappropriate for her to participate in the ritual.

According to her chief personal secretary, Adarsha Kumar Shrestha, the Prime Minister noted that the pain of the deceased families and the many injured remains fresh, and therefore she will refrain from the Tika ceremony this year.

Her secretariat further clarified that in this moment of grief, she will not observe the ritual and has also urged the general public to abstain from applying Tika as well.