A city puja committee has installed a huge flex outside its pandal to pay homage to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who breathed his last on August 16.

The Golmuri Circus Maidan Durga Puja and Kali Puja Committee, which has been hosting Durga Puja since 1926, has come up with a 50-feet-high and 30-feet-wide flex displaying a life-size photograph of the former prime minister along with snapshots of various stages of his life with the slogan Atal tha, Atal hoon, Atal hi rahunga.

The flex has been built by local artists at a cost of Rs 5 lakh.

“It was a conscious decision taken by our committee members led by BJP leader Dinesh Kumar Sahu (who is also the BJP district chief) to use the occasion to pay tributes to the great leader by not only showcasing his achievements as Prime Minister, but also his poetic skills. We hope visitors will spare a moment to run their eyes on this great leader’s role in the nation’s development,” said Amish Agarwal, treasurer of the Puja committee.

While the flex will greet revellers outside the pandal, models showcasing the great leader’s achievements will be placed inside.

“We have hired an event management group which will display models depicting ach-ievements when Vajpayee was the prime minister,” he said.

The models, which have been kept on both sides of the idol, include Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (initiated in 2001), National Highway Development Project (NHDP), Delhi-Lahore bus service, telecom revolution, victory in Kargil war and the Pokhran nuclear test.

“We have used jute, wool, clay, wooden ply, hard paper boards and thermocol to make the models,” Agarwal added.

The 10-feet traditional pratima has been built by artisans from East Midnapore in Bengal at a cost of 50,000 while lighting across the sprawling pandal has been done at a budget of Rs 80,000.