The popular Balapur Ganesh Laddu broke its own record by fetching Rs 16.60 lakhs in the open auction held before the start of the Ganesh immersion procession on Sunday.
The popular Balapur Ganesh Laddu broke its own record by fetching Rs 16.60 lakhs in the open auction held before the start of the Ganesh immersion procession on Sunday.
The laddu thus got a bid of Rs 1 lakh more this year than it did last year - it was bought for Rs 15.60 lakhs last year by a Nagam Tirupathi Reddy, while this year one T Srinivas Gupta, Balapur Arya Vysya Sangam president, wrested the 21 kg sweet for Rs 16.60 lakhs from among 12 competitors in a nail-biting open auction.
The laddu auction started at Rs. 1,116, and local leaders and businessmen competed with each other to own it before Gupta outbid everyone.
The devotees of Lord Ganesha strongly believe that the sacred laddu preserves the health and wealth of the buyer. As always, the funds from the laddu auction will be spent on the development of the village, temples and welfare activities.
The tradition of auctioning the laddu started in 1994 with the formation of the Balapur Ganesh Utsav Committee. The first time the laddu was auctioned, in 1994, one Kolanu Mohan Reddy, a local resident, bought it for Rs 450. The bid amount continued to rise year after year thereafter, thanks to the winners of the laddu prospering well.
After the auction, the committee members felicitated Gupta and presented him a two kilogram silver plate along with the laddu. Speaking on the occasion, Gupta said he was very happy to own the laddu in his first attempt itself this year. He said that he would distribute the precious prasadam to the people.