The highly popular Balapur Ganesh laddu broke its own record by fetching Rs 15.60 lakhs in the open auction held before the start of the Ganesh immersion procession on Tuesday.
This year the laddu got Rs 95,000 more than it fetched last year (it was bought in 2016 by a local leader and Medchal businessman Skylab Reddy for Rs 14.65 lakhs).
Excitement and surprises marked the Balapur laddu auction this morning. The devotees of Lord Ganapathi strongly believe that the sacred laddu fetches health and wealth to the buyer, and local leaders and businessmen competed with each other to own the laddu.
One Nagam Tirupathi Reddy, a realtor of Ayyappa Society in Madhapur in Hitech city, finally wrested the 21 kg laddu for Rs 15.60 lakhs from among 15 competitors in the nail-biting open auction.
An excited Tirupathi Reddy, a native of Wanaparthy and a relative of former minister and BJP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy, said it was a dream come true for him as he had yearned for the holy laddu for several years.
"Finally, I got the laddu prasadam with the blessings of Lord Ganesha," he said.
The tradition of the auctioning the laddu started in 1994 with the formation of the Balapur Ganesh Utsav Committee. The first time the laddu was auctioned, one K Mohan Reddy, a local resident, bought it for just Rs 450.
The funds from the laddu sale will be spent on the development of the village, temples and and welfare activities.