New Delhi: Javelin of the Olympic Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra received the highest bid of Rs 1.5 crore at the end of the e-auction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's mementos on Thursday while the maximum number of bids were received for the sculpture of Sardar Patel (140).
The autographed fence of Indian athlete Bhavani Devi (Rs 1.25 Cr.), Sumit Antil’s javelin (Rs 1.002 Cr.), Angavastra autographed by the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic contingent (Rs 1 Cr.) and Lovlina Borgohain’s Boxing gloves (Rs 91 L) were also among the favourite picks.
The third round of e-auction of prestigious gifts and mementos presented to Prime Minister Modi was held from September 17th to October 7th, 2021 through the web portal www.pmmementos.gov.in. The proceeds of the e-auction will go to the Namami Gange Mission. PM Modi is the first-ever Prime Minister of India, to auction all the gifts he has received for the noble cause of conserving and rejuvenating the lifeline of the country - the Holy river Ganga.
During the e-auction, 1348 mementos were put up for the third round, which has evoked huge interest among the public, who enthusiastically placed bids to get an opportunity to own a valuable piece of history. The highlight items of this round of e-auction included the sports memorabilia of the medal-winning Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games; models of Ayodhya Ram Mandir; Varanasi’s Rudraksha auditorium and many other precious and interesting collectables. More than 8600 bids were received for the items.
Meanwhile, items like decorative mace, a replica of the Statue of Unity, a Charkha and a bell received the highest bids in terms of bid value as compared to the base price. The maximum number of bids were received by the sculpture of Sardar Patel (140 bids), wooden Ganesha (117 bids), a memento of the Pune metro line (104 bids) and a memento of Victory flame (98 bids).
In a similar e-auction in September 2019, as many as 2,770 objects went under the hammer. These included paintings, sculptures, shawls, jackets and traditional musical instruments. The proceeds were also donated to the Namami Gange Mission.
READ: Tokyo Paralympics silver medalist Suhas's badminton racket in PM's e-auction of gifts
