The gallery for Durga idols in the Rabindra Sarobar compound will be expanded to display more idols, an official of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), the custodian of the Sarobar, said.

There are 14 idols at the gallery called “Maa Phire Elo”, located along the southern boundary of the Sarobar premises. Around five more idols are kept inside a makeshift gallery, which was set up to create space for an increasing number of idols being sent for display.

The KMDA plans to expand the gallery and make space for 10 more idols, said the official. The temporary gallery will be pulled down once the main enclosure is expanded.

“We have decided to expand the gallery. Every year we receive requests from the government to keep Durga idols in the gallery. We have to let go of old idols to make space for new ones. Some very good idols have to be removed in the process,” said the official.

“We will complete the expansion before Durga Puja this year. The expansion will take about two months.”

A long defunct warehouse on the Sarobar premises was converted into a gallery in 2012. Cement, stone chips and iron rods used to be stored in the 3,000sq ft building when it functioned as a warehouse of a government agency.

A Durga idol of the Chetla Agrani club, made by Bhabatosh Sutar in 2017, is among the idols displayed in the gallery.

KMDA sources said a space for expanding the gallery became available after the demolition of the staff quarters nearby.

The gallery has had steady stream of visitors over the years. The footfall shoots up after Durga Puja every year.

A 23-year-old woman from Jadavpur who had visited the gallery last year said the guards had told her about expansion plans. “Some of the idols, however, were not kept well. Portions of the idols were falling off,” she said.

The makeshift gallery where about five idols have been kept also do not look well. The structure is made of bamboo frames, tin plates and tarpaulin sheets.

The KMDA official said they would request the government to choose idols made of fibre or wood for display because such idols stay intact for a long time.

“It is difficult to maintain clay idols. Some of the idols get dampened and portions break off after some years,” he said.