Did not block Mirik lake pathway, says tea company

SNS, SILIGURI, 14 APRIL 21 : Goodricke Group Limited (GGL) has blamed the "local bodies" for the closure of a pathway leading to the lake in the tourist town of Mirik in Darjeeling.

The pathway to the Sumendhu Lake from the Krishnanagar end was opened at the initiative of local people last Saturday. The thoroughfare had been closed since January 2018 after the GGL opened a tea lounge, "Tea by the Lake," there. According to local people, the pathway had been open to the public for decades and ever since the lake was built and thrown open to the public in 1979.

"The site where the outlet is located clearly belongs to Goodricke Group and the same being cited "controversial" is incorrect. The pathway was always open from our outlet end, which however, remained closed at the outer end of the pathway towards the lake area by a gate and Goodricke Group Limited had no mle in this. The gate in question, falls outside the boundary of  our tea lounge and was kept closed by local bodies for a temporary period of a time for reasons not known to us," GGL authorities said in a press note." As for the mentioned issue regarding the public toilet and the second school gate, it has to be noted that the same does not fall in the jurisdiction of Goodricke Group," the GGL said.

Local people have, however, claimed that the public toilet and the second gate of the Mirik Higher Secondary School still remained inside the fenced compound of the tea lounge.

"Goodricke Group Ltd has been operating in the Mirik area for many decades through our Thurbo Tea Garden and more recently "Tea by the Lake" outlet and these two unit s not only provide employment opportunities to the population in the area but as a socially responsible corporate entity we also undertake various community welfare initiatives including health and welfare assistance to the population contiguous to our areas of operation," the GGL said, adding, "More recently, during the construction of the "Tea by the lake" outlet, we committed to sponsor construction of a Children's Park in Mirik lake."

":.During the work on the park, a separate pathway for tourists and locals is already in the process of implementation, which has been planned to avoid any hindrance and provide adequate safety to children playing in the Children's park," the Goodricke authorities added.