As the Puja organizers find newer ways to attract more visitors with eye-catching themes, a few of the organizers have been bold in making Pujas a happy ‘hunting’ ground for the pets too, in a year, when the city is celebrating UNESCO’s heritage tag for Durga Pujas. Others, however, have been banking on tradition to get footfalls.

Madhya Pradesh emporium in the city Mrignayani is allowing pets into their shop along with their owners. The owners can also choose matching dress material for the pets. Mrignayani GM KK Chatterjee, said, “We are giving the standard 20 per cent discount for the Puja. People have been coming to us and making enquiries about their pets. So, we allowed this arrangement. Till now, we have had a mix of such customers.”

Kasba resident Snigdha Sarkar, who was there at the emporium, said, “I plan to go out with my pet, one-and-a-half-year-old English bulldog, Tyson and wear matching clothes. It is an exciting time for us as now we have pet-friendly cafes, restaurants, and now Puja pandals. This is a very innovative concept. We have always thought of mother-daughter and father-son duo but now we have the owner-pet duo. After all, they are part of the family.”

Another dog, Bo, a 8-year-old Beagle, was also getting ready for its matching clothes as the owner tried hard to find a matching dress material for it.

Bidhan Sarani Atlas Club, Shyambazar is the first such Puja in Kolkata to allow pets this year. Ritam Bhattacharjee, joint secretary of the committee, said, “We are the first in Kolkata to come out with such a concept. Our artist Sayak Raj suggested the idea to us and instantly, we agreed. We have come to know that after our announcement, a few more clubs have also planned to make their Pujas pet-friendly. This is an achievement for us. We have a helpdesk and a helpline number, where we are requesting the pet owners to contact us beforehand so that we can usher them in from a separate lane. If we see that three are pets inside and the crowd has swelled, we will stop the inflow of people to let the pets leave. This year, pets are our VVIPs.”

The joint secretary of the committee, a pet lover, has a Labrador and a street dog as pets, Posto and Keltu. He informs that the pandal will also reflect the theme.