Five houses at the Singel tea estate in Kurseong subdivision of Darjeeling district were gutted in a blaze that broke out on Thursday.
Anit Thapa, the chief executive of Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), visited the spot after the incident. The subdivisional administration is working to rehabilitate the affected families, said sources.
The cause of the fire, however, is yet to be ascertained.
Residents said that the fire broke out at the Coffeebari-Godamdhura area of the tea estate on Thursday morning. The garden is on the outskirts of Kurseong town, under the St Mary’s-II panchayat of the subdivision.
“The fire that broke out around 9am completely gutted five houses. Residents rushed to douse the flames and informed the Kurseong fire station. Two fire tenders reached the spot and managed to control the flames around noon,” said a source in the administration.
Along with Thapa, the GTA member from Tung-St Mary’s seat Nuri Sherpa and officials from the Kurseong subdivisional administration went to the spot. The GTA chief coordinated relief services with administrative officials.
“Five families lost everything because of the fire. We will rehabilitate them and provide them with new houses. I have also spoken with the SDO and the BDO for necessary relief materials to be given to the families,” Thapa said.
The administration and the rural body provided food grains and clothes to them as immediate relief. A community kitchen also started in the locality to provide them with cooked food, said sources.