The planned unveiling of statues honouring youths killed during last year’s Gen Z movement was called off on Wednesday after families objected that several sculptures did not resemble their children.

The statues had been prepared at the All Nepal Football Association complex in Satdobato, Lalitpur, for the first anniversary of the Gen Z uprising. Home Minister Sudan Gurung and Infrastructure Development Minister Sunil Lamsal were scheduled to unveil the statues. The ministers reached the venue on Wednesday but left without unveiling the memorials after families raised objections.

“We went and looked at the statues, but most of the statues did not match the appearance of our martyr children,” said Narayan Shrestha, chair of the Gen Z Martyrs’ Families Welfare Society. “It was distressing to see a young person of 18-20 represented as an 80-year-old. Families of many of the 45 martyrs said the faces did not resemble their children, so the event had to be postponed.”

According to Shrestha, the martyrs’ families insisted that each statue should accurately resemble the person it commemorates. He said the work would now be completed and the statues unveiled on Martyrs’ Day (January 30 next year) before being handed over to the Gen Z Martyrs’ Families Welfare Society.

As the martyrs’ families themselves expressed dissatisfaction over the likenesses, questions have grown over why such errors occurred and who was responsible for the work. The park project was initiated with the active involvement of Bablu Gupta, who was youth and sports minister in the election government led by Sushila Karki. A team of around 20–21 people, including sculptors Rabi Shakya, Manish Shrestha and Sujit Shrestha, was responsible for making the statues.

Sculptor Rabi Shakya said the controversy arose because the statues were brought to the site before they were finished. “The main reason for the dissatisfaction is that the statues were installed in a hurry before the work was complete,” he told Kantipur. “Of the 45 statues, some were only 50 percent complete and others had barely reached 30 percent.”

According to Shakya, the artists were informed 10 to 15 days before the event and asked to put the unfinished statues on display so the anniversary could be marked while showing that work was under way. He said he had initially opposed the idea, arguing that the statues should not be installed before completion.

Shakya said the unfinished works would be taken back to the workshop. “If I were a family member, I would also be angry,” he said. “We wanted to do good work, but the situation turned out differently.”

“Manish and Sujit are very skilled artists. It pains me that they were rushed into putting the statues on display before completing the work and that they have been judged unfairly. They are deeply upset,” said Shakya.

The team began the project with their own contributions after taking part in the Gen Z movement. Shakya said no government money had been received and there had been no government budget, quotation or tender. Some support came from Ncell and Global IME Bank, he said, while former youth and sports minister Bablu Gupta provided an advance of around Rs400,000. Shakya added that he personally made eight to 10 statues and some craftsmen worked without pay.

Gupta, meanwhile, defended the sculptors and said they were being unfairly blamed. “The government has not put money into this project. We have done it collectively, and they have been working without pay,” he said. “Allegations of corruption have upset them deeply.”

Gupta said the dispute involved only three or four statues and that differences between photographs and actual facial features may have contributed to the problem. “Families would be invited to inspect each statue before completion.

They will now have a direct role in checking whether the statue resembles their loved ones,” he said.

The government declared 45 Gen Z protesters who died in the September 8 and 9, 2025 uprising martyrs. The martyrs’ families have repeatedly demanded proper recognition and support, saying official promises should reflect the sacrifices of those killed.