Organising Durga Puja responsibly in a city afflicted by a pandemic is itself a heroic feat. To do so with an eye on Covid protocol and also compassion and care at heart, deserves a salute.

That is why in its 18th edition, the Model Puja title of CESC The Telegraph True Spirit Puja, held in association with David & Goliath, and with Friends 91.9 FM as radio partner and ABP Ananda as television news partner, has gone west across the Hooghly to Salkia Alapani, that not only ticked every box on the evaluation sheet but achieved more.

The Chetla Agrani Club pandal. Pabitra Das

Over 200 pujas across Calcutta and Howrah had signed up to be measured on an even tougher True Spirit scale of merit this year and 12 pujas made the final cut. At the end of a three-hour virtual tour on Sashthi over video conference, the judges — Raima Sen, Nusrat Jahan, Yash Dasgupta, Gaurav Chakrabarty, Richa Sharma, Joyneel Mukherjee and Arijit Basu — came up with their pick of the top four.

From the idol to the priest to visitors, care and compassion are evident in every respect at Salkia Alapani. “We heard of migrant zari workers in neighbouring Uluberia sitting at home without work and sent the Kumartuli-made idol to them to decorate. We have taken out a health insurance policy for Covid-19 for our priest and dhaki. To reduce risk of infection, we are sanitising the puja flowers daily,” said Sayantan Chakrabarty, a committee member.

The Hatibagan Sarbojanin pandal. Biswajit Kundu

An isolation room has been set up, complete with PPE kit, pulse oxymeter and nebuliser in case a visitor is detected with fever on the automatic thermal reading meter that detects body temperature as one passes by. A doctor is also at hand to deal with such eventualities. Not content with sanitising hands of visitors, the club has set up a wash basin at the exit.

The club has barred in-person anjali, asking residents to follow the ritual at home through live streaming on social media.

Rupali Basu at the Hatibagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee puja pandal on Thursday. Biswajit Kundu

Chetla Agrani Club, a Five Star awardee, has a pandal open on three sides to allow ventilation and keep the virus at bay. A gigantic bird with its wings spread sits at the entrance. “We want to fly free but in this situation we are trapped,” said a volunteer. The inspiration is Rabindranath Tagore’s poem Duhsamay, a title that captures this star-crossed time.

The idol can be seen from the road while driving by, reducing footfall outside. The rituals will all be webcast live on the club’s website chetlaagraniclub.com.

Model Puja: Salkia Alapani. Rashbehari Das

Suruchi Sangha, another Five Star Puja, is consistent in word and deed in naming its theme “Ebar utsab noy, hok manusher puja (Not celebration this time, let it be worship of people)”.

They have spent 60 per cent of their budget on gifting clothes to 10,155 children and another 10 per cent on paying wages to the decorator’s men and the illuminators who had to sit idle during the lockdown. “Every year, they would start work on our pandal by July. What you see is the work of just a month. We did not want them to miss out on the earnings,” said the club’s cultural secretary Soumya Sarkar.

Five star puja: Suruchi Sangha. B Halder

To ensure that residents do not miss out on offering anjali, it has worked out a way to adhere to the high court order and yet ensure that sentiments are not hurt. “We have put up about 80 loudspeakers across the neighbourhood. The ritual will be webcast on our social media pages. A request can be sent to a dedicated WhatsApp number to get flowers offered by residents to the goddess picked up from respective homes and offered at Durga’s feet. We will even send them a picture as proof,” said Sarkar.

Five star puja: Chetla Agrani Club. Pabitra Das

They recycled their pandal structure from last year to minimise environmental impact and used an open-style plan.

Hatibagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee, the third to be adjudged Five Star Puja, has left its pandal “incomplete”. Wires are dangling, the tea kettle is hanging, hammers and nails lie askance. This is to freeze time at a moment labourers abruptly left and the lockdown ground life to a halt.

five star puja: Hatibagan Sarbojanin Durgotsav Committee. Biswajit Kundu

The club made sure life went on for the locality. “We delivered masks to every family and to all buyers and sellers at the Hatibagan market in the early days of the lockdown. And neighbours who tested Covid positive were helped in seeking admission to hospitals or safe homes. Those who stayed home were supplied with necessities,” said Subham Roy Gupta, the assistant secretary.

Thakurpukur State Bank Park Sarbojanin was inducted to the Hall of Fame this year. Behala Nutan Dal got the David & Goliath Puja That Cares while Manicktalla Chaltabagan Lohapatty Durga Puja Committee was named the Voiceworx Truly Managed Puja.

Additional reporting by Anannya Sarkar, Shrestha Saha, Malancha Dasgupta, Jhinuk Mazumdar and Pramita Ghosh