Rabindra Sarobar and Eco Park are options where the idol can be placed.
Now that Durga Puja is over, what does one do with the world's tallest idol of Goddess Durga, the one that caused a near stampede at Deshapriya Park in south Kolkata and had to be shut to public? Well, the government has been persuaded to come to the rescue, it seems.
The idol will be turned into a new landmark in the city and a hunt is on for a suitable location. The solution is a bonanza for the idol's sponsors who spent Rs 6 crore to build and advertise it.
The 88 feet tall idol made of fibre glass and cement could not be immersed.
"Our committee president has spoken to the government which has agreed to keep the idol. We are donating it to the state," says Sudipta Kumar, member, Deshapriya Park Puja Committee which organised the puja.
The idol-maker who crafted the Durga, Mintu Pal, is relieved. "Many people didn't get to see the idol. So I request chief minister Mamata Banerjee to put it somewhere so that they can see it. After all, it has created many records," he said.
Rabindra Sarobar and Eco Park are options. Corporates, too, have offered her an address. But happiest, of course, is the company that spent Rs 50 lakh on the idol, Rs 5.5 crore on ads and now will have publicity for ever for free.
Sanjay Gupta, CEO Star Cement, said, "Yes we have got mileage, we have become a household name. Which is great. But I would have been most satisfied if people had got to see it. Now they will hopefully get that opportunity."
With this idol, marketing clearly reached new heights. But those who nearly crushed in a stampede to see her, they are sure to queue up again once she has had her new house warming party.