Darjeeling: A fire in the closed Singtom Tea Estate resulted in a large number of tea bushes being razed to the ground on Monday. The incident comes at a time of the premium first flush harvest. Cause of the fire is still not known. Local residents along with a fire tender from Darjeeling managed to bring the fire under control.
“The fire occurred at around 12:30 pm on Monday causing huge damage to blocks 3 and 4 in the upper division of the Singtom tea estate. The fire nearly touched the forest area which could have had widespread consequences with a dense village just above the forest. As it is the dry season such fires are common. However if it is a case of arson, such acts should be stopped immediately,” stated Rajiv Dewan, a local resident.
In the past also there have been a number of incidents of fire in the garden. The management had abandoned the garden on September 25, 2024, with a bonus agitation. Since then the garden has been closed. On October 9, 2024 the Assistant Manager’s bungalow was razed to the ground in a fire.
Soon after that, on October 14, 2024 the heritage Director’s bungalow at the Singtom Tea Estate, claimed to be the world’s first tea garden resort, was razed to the ground in a fire. With two back-to-back fires at that time, arson was not ruled out. “With the garden locked out, many among the workforce are working in other gardens.
Such fires further aggravate the situation, that too at the time of first flush harvest. Garbage is being dumped on the roads. The fire could have broken out from the garbage heap,” claimed Shiva Lama, a local resident.