Steel baron Lakshmi Mittal offers prayers at the Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai. (PTI)

The idol for Lakshmi Mittal’s Durga puja in London this year will be sourced from Calcutta, where the billionaire had spent his early days.

The secretary of the Durga Puja and Dusshera Committee in London, of which Mittal is president, has placed an order for the idol with Gorachand Paul and Sons, of Kumartuli.

“The secretary of the committee approached us to make the idol. Talks are on for a month and the details will be worked out soon,” said Prodyut Paul, spokesperson for Gorachand Paul and Sons.

Twice before, in 1996 and 2001, the Pauls had sent idol to Mittal’s puja. “They are very particular about the idol. They want it to be made of mud and straw, not paper or fibreglass, as is the custom in the West,” said Paul.

Bengalis living abroad usually organise Durga puja over the weekend. But for the Mittals, it’s a five-day affair. “Their pujas are just like what they are in Calcutta. The celebration extends from Shashti to Dashami. They change their idol after every few years,” said Paul.

Instead of being shipped, the idol could be flown out of Calcutta because of a lack of time.