PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: 11th August 2021

The Windamere in Crisis: Iconic Darjeeling Heritage Hotel in Danger

There is unrest amongst the workers at the Windamere Hotel, a Colonial Heritage hotel in Darjeeling, which has repeatedly issued notices intimating closure of the hotel in the course of the last few months, citing financial losses suffered owing to the pandemic.

Many of the workers together with their families threatened to go on hunger strike in protest against the decision of the management to shut down the hotel and lay off workers.

The Labour commission has intervened and prevented the hotel from shutting down in totality and laying off employees.

In the midst of the financial crisis suffered by the iconic hotel, members of the illustrious Tenduf-La family who have owned the hotel for generations have approached the National Company Law Tribunal at Kolkata seeking to be recognised as the rightful majority shareholders of the company owning the hotel.

The Tenduf-La family have sought the intervention of the National Company Law Tribunal, Kolkata with regard to the decision of the present management headed by minority shareholder Ms. Elizabeth Clarke to close down the hotel and have expressed their fervent intent to keep the hotel’s doors from closing after nearly 8 decades of successful operation, subject to their prevailing in the action before the Tribunal.

The Tenduf-La family have also expressed their apprehension regarding the present management of the hotel dealing with the assets of the hotel.

One can only hope that the ownership struggles at the hotel can be settled soon and the plight of the workers is allayed.

It would be a tragedy if Darjeeling were to lose an iconic landmark like the Windamere Hotel.

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