The Earth is a fine place and worth fighting for, Ernest Hemingway had once observed.

Bharatiya Yuvak Sangh, which has been organising Durga Puja in Bakri Bazaar for the past six decades, has decided to follow the American novelist’s advice to the letter.

Artisans from Bengal hired for the club’s 130-feet-tall pandal modelled on the Iskcon temple in Bangalore have been forbidden from using anything detrimental to environment health — be it tent material or chemicals to paint the idols.

“I am using plain water colour on the Durga pratima. In fact, all ornaments and floral decorations of the Devi are also made of Gangamati, the same clay that the deity is made of,” said artisan Kushadhwaj, entrusted with the task of bringing to life a 13-feet-tall idol of Durga.

The temple-style pandal flaunts two giant pillar-like structures that look like gopurams, quintessentially Dravidian architecture. A gopuram or gopura is a monumental entrance tower, usually ornate and pyramidal, at the entrance of Hindu temples in southern India. The interior dome is lit up by a colossal chandelier.

Over 70 artisans from Bengal have been erecting the club Rs 35-lakh pandal, which covers an area of 120ft by 90ft, for the past three months.

The exterior is ethereal in white. Inside the pandal, the corners have been finely decorated with orange beads and vibrant pictures of gods and goddesses.

A long pradakshin path has been made from the entrance of the pandal till the portico that leads to the sanctum sanctorum. The latter can accommodate 200-250 people at a time.

The goddess — draped in red, the colour of courage and strength — is shown killing Mahishasur with a trishul. Alongside the demon king there are figurines depicting various social evils such as human trafficking, corruption and atrocities against women.

“There is no dearth of evil in our society, but the good always prevails. That is the recurrent theme of Durga Puja and will remain so. In addition, we have taken measures to ensure that our pandal or pratima do not pollute land, water or air,” summed up club president Ashok Chaudhary.