Dharamshala:  A massive fire consumed the iconic Kalimpong Noodle Factory on Saturday, gutting the insides of the fifty-year-old building which has stood a landmark since 1967.

Gyalo Thondup, elder brother to His Holiness the Dalai Lama who owns the three-acre compound said that the decimated noodle factory will be rebuilt after a few weeks.

While thanking a group of local Tibetans who had come to help with the restoration, the elder brother of His Holiness reassured the factory staff and others not to worry over the damage.

“It has stood for 50 years now and with this fire engulfing the foundation, it may be time to slowly rebuild it,” Gyalo Thondup said.

Kalon Karma Gelek Yuthok, Acting President of the Central Tibetan Administration expressed concerns over the incident and assured that utmost support is being extended by the Settlement Officer in Kalimpong.

The flames began in the late evening and ravaged throughout the factory compound. However, the single-storey ‘Taktser house’ named after Gyalo Thondup’s birthplace was unharmed.

Gyalo Thondup’s three-acre compound located at the 8th Mile houses the noodle factory and his residence, the Taktser house.

The Noodle factory employs between 12 and 20 workers and produces 300 to 400kg of noodles every day.

“I bought this three-acre plot in Kalimpong in 1963 for Rs 7,200 and started the factory in 1967, and I have been making noodles as this is all I know,” Gyalo Thondup was quoted in an interview with The Telegraph.