The idols of three Durga puja committees in the city, including the one which depicted the goddess as a migrant woman carrying her child, will be kept at a gallery run by a state government agency.

The three Durga idols will be kept at the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority gallery in Rabindra Sarobar area of the city.

The fibreglass idol of the migratory woman, on the road trail during the lockdown carrying her child and three other children trailing her, drew crowds to the Barisha Club Puja pandal to watch the deity during the puja days and the image went viral on social media triggering both praise and criticism from netizens.

A section of people had felt the traditional look of the goddess cannot be experimented in a puja where all rituals are being followed while many others hailed the work of art.

The idol, inspired by a watercolour painting by Bikash Bhattacharya and sculpted by craftsman Rintu Das, would be kept at the "Phire Dekha" (Looking Back) gallery where some Durga idols of previous years have already been kept, a puja committee spokesman said on Friday.

Bengal minister Firhad Hakim said "the idol will be kept in the gallery for the time being. It was liked by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during the inauguration and it is an amazing work of art."

Similarly, the beautiful Durga idol of Santoshpur Lake Pally made of paper and the idol of 74 Pally, Khidderpore have also been taken to the gallery, the organisers said.

"We are happy that our idol, which could not be viewed by revellers due to Calcutta High Court order prohibiting entry of visitors 10 metre from the pandal entrance, can now be seen by everyone at the art gallery - from morning walkers in the lake compound to tourists," Santoshpur Lake Pally General Secretary Somnath Das said.

The Santoshpur Lake Pally idol has been made of paper pulp.

A KMDA official said some Durga idols are being displayed in the gallery.