Hyderabad: After a round of frantic bidding that lasted close to twenty minutes, the immensely popular Balapur Ganesh Laddu was auctioned for a record-shattering amount of Rs 17.6 lakh, here on Thursday.
The open auction began at around 10:23 am, before the Ganesh idol was taken in a procession for immersion.
This time around, the 26th year of the auction, as many as 19 participants took part. Apart from the locals, a few participants from various other parts of Andhra Pradesh too tried their luck at acquiring the coveted laddu.
The auction, conducted by the Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi, began at Rs 1,116 amidst hundreds of people who had come down to witness the popular event.
In the end, it was a local Balapur resident Kolan Ram Reddy who won the laddu at the record price of Rs 17.6 lakh, a steep one lakh increase from the winning amount last year.
Earlier, Reddy's extended family had on multiple occasions participated in the auction, winning the laddu a whopping eight times.
After winning the laddu for the ninth time for his family, Reddy climbed onto the vehicle carrying the Balapur Ganesh idol, before being garlanded by the Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi office bearers.
Auction of the Balapur laddu first began in 1994, when the winning amount was a mere Rs 450. Over the years, the laddu gained prominence as it is believed that acquiring the laddu brings good luck and prosperity.
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