The Dum Dum Park Tarun Sangha puja that was crowned Model Puja in 2006. A Telegraph picture

As organisers gear up to add last-minute sheen to the pandal or brighten up the chosen light theme, there is something special happening at 225 pujas around town. They have enrolled for CESC The Telegraph True Spirit Puja and have a promise to live up to — to celebrate the city’s biggest festival in the right spirit and show that they care.

Of them, a handful is facing an ever bigger challenge than the rest. For, they had been crowned last year and so have a reputation to live up to. On Monday evening, for instance, Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja Committee, flaunting Four Star status, was helping the needy — distributing clothes among 200 people, books among 25 students and medical assistance among 15 patients. The puja has enjoyed quite a run in the True Spirit record books, making it to the final round three years on the trot.

Mudiali Club, also of Four Star fame, will be as busy on Panchami evening. “We will take 50 slum children out pandal-hopping and gift clothes to another 50,” said Nitai Mukherjee.

Five Star winner Ramakrishna Athletic Club, in Howrah, is making arrangements for wheelchairs, fire tenders and first-aid. “We are focusing on popularisation of solar energy. All our lights will be solar-powered. Electricity will be a back-up,” said Manik Bandyopadhyay, a committee member.

Solar power will light up the Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty puja, too. Here, last year’s chariot will be replaced by Debi Chaudhurani’s bajra, straight from Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s novel.

Security is being fortified with close-circuit camera, electronic fire alarm and radio communication.

Environment is as big a concern as entertainment for the puja committees that care.

Notun Dal in Behala erects its pandal on a plot that till a year ago was a dumping ground. “We planted medicinal plants in April and they have grown to give our pandal a green look. We have also preserved the hibiscus, bougainvillea and bamboo shoots we had planted last year,” said Sandipan Banerjee, a member of the club.

At Ramakrishna Athletic Club, the bamboo structure of last year will be replaced by dhokra, a material woven out of cotton or jute.

“We have sprayed fire-retardants on both,” explained Manik Banerjee, an executive committee member. The roof of the pandal will be made out of khola, a precursor of burnt clay tiles.

For Dum Dum Park Tarun Sangha, crowned Model Puja 2006, reaching out to neighbours is a round-the-year commitment. “There are many slums in Shyamnagar and along the Bagjola canal. Child labour is rampant there as drug abuse among men is high. We have started awareness campaigns against addiction. The effect is trickling down,” said former president of Tarun Sangha Mrinalkanti Ganguly.

On Ashtami, there will be free access to lunch tables in Dum Dum and Mudiali. “Seeing the smile on people’s faces is our greatest reward,” said Mukherjee of Mudiali Club.