A devastating fire broke out at the Makaibari Tea Estate on Thursday which razed the heritage Director's Bungalow. The tea estate located on the Pankhabari Road near the Kurseong town boasts of the oldest tea factory in the world.
At around 2.30 pm on Thursday, residents noticed smoke billowing out of the bungalow. "We were in the kitchen when we smelt smoke. When we rushed to the adjoining room, the ceiling had already caught fire" said one of the employees.
There were five persons present in the Bungalow at the time of the fire including, Srirupa Banerjee, wife of the Chairman of the garden. All five were quickly evacuated with no reports of any injury or loss of life.
Two fire engines from Kurseong managed to douse the fire. At around 5.30 pm, the fire was brought under control. "Engines were also called in from Siliguri. Though the cause of the fire is not known yet, residents claim that it could have originated from the geyser" stated Debasish Chattopadhyay, Sub Divisional Officer (SDO,) Kurseong.
The semi-concrete (concrete and wood) Director's Bungalow was razed to the ground.
"It is a great loss. Four generations of the Banerjee family have lived in this bungalow. A part of the history has been lost with many rare documents, books, photographs and trophies destroyed in the fire. Nothing could be recovered from the bungalow" stated Kumar Rai, Assistant Manager.
Swaraj Kumar Banerjee, popular as Rajah Banerjee, the Chairman of the Makaibari Tea and Trade Company had left for Kolkata on Thursday morning. The tea estate website states: "For more than a century-and-half, Makaibari has been tended by four generations of the Banerjee family; the only estate in Darjeeling to never have been owned by components of the Raj. Makaibari, was the first tea factory in the world, built by the pioneering G C Banerjee, the founding father of Makaibari Tea Estates, in 1859." G C Banerjee belonged to a zamindar family from Borai, about 100 km from Kolkata.
The company website also claims that it was the first garden to be certified as organic in 1988. On November 15, 2015 during his meeting with Queen Elizabeth in the Buckingham Palace, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had gifted her world famous tea from Makaibari.
Located in Kurseong subdivision, in Darjeeling District, Makaibari sustains seven villages and 1,587 people. In June 2014, around 90 percent stake of the company was sold to Luxmi Tea. However Rajah Banerjee continues to function as the Chairman. He resides in the Director's Bungalow.