Darjeeling, July 20: The Singtom tea garden was destroyed today in a fire that started in the early hours of the morning in the withering section and slowly eating up the rest of the factory building within a few hours.

According to manager of the tea estate R.K. Modi, the fire had started 5 am.

No casualties have been reported since there were only four persons on duty when the fire broke out.

Even though the main section of the factory has been completely razed, the office and the testing room that are housed in another block have remained intact.

The fire station had been informed but the officials had expressed their inability to douse the flames since they did not have any small fire tenders. The road to the gardens was too narrow for the big fire engines.

DGHC area councillor A.R. Dewan said the fire station in Darjeeling did not have any small fire tenders that could have gone to the garden. “In the past, we have seen that the fire brigades have been unable to come to the aid of tea estates as they did not have the required number of fire tenders,” he said.

An official at the fire station said they were helpless in such situations.

“Earlier, we had a small jeep, but now it does not work. Hence, the difficulty in fighting fires in such areas,” he admitted.

The fire at the Singtom tea factory has dealt a big blow to the estate where green leaves from Singtom and another division of the garden at Seinthall were being processed.

“This is definitely the peak season as the second flush is going on. We have been plucking around 3,000 kg of green tea leaves every day and the produce is around 700 kg of tea. It will take quite some time before the factory can be set up again,” said Modi.

Later in the day, the garden management held a meeting with the operational unions of the garden and decided to start operations at the garden from tomorrow.

It was also decided that the garden would sell its green leaves to the nearby Phubshering garden and other neighbouring gardens until the factory is repaired.

Reshamphul Rai, a worker, said: “I have retired but as soon as I heard of the fire I rushed to this place. It is a loss for all of us and we have to help rebuild the factory again.”

The Singtom tea garden, about 6 km from Darjeeling, is owned by the Camellia Tea Group Ltd Established in 1852, it was one of the oldest tea estates in the Darjeeling hills.