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Balapur laddu 15.6 lakh!
The much-popular Balapur Ganesh laddu broke its own record by fetching Rs 15.6 lakh in the open auction held before the start of Ganesh immersion procession here on Tuesday.
Hyderabad: The much-popular Balapur Ganesh laddu broke its own record by fetching Rs 15.6 lakh in the open auction held before the start of Ganesh immersion procession here on Tuesday.
Excitement and surprises marked the Balapur laddu auction on Tuesday morning. Nagam Tirupathi Reddy, a realtor of Ayyappa Society in Madhapur in HiTec City, won the 21-kg laddu for Rs 15.6 lakh among 15 competitors in a nail-biting open auction.
The devotees of Lord Ganesh strongly believe that the sacred laddu fetches health and wealth to the buyer. 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 yearned for the holy laddu for several years.
"Finally, I got the laddu prasadam with the blessings of Lord Ganesha," he said. Local leaders and businessmen competed to own the laddu as they believed it would bring them good luck. The funds yielded from the laddu will be spent on the development of the village, temples and welfare activities. This year, the laddu got Rs 95,000 more than the last year when Medchal businessman Skylab Reddy had won the laddu for Rs 14.65.
Bidding started around 9.30 am. After special pujas, Balapur Ganesh was taken in a mammoth procession. The tradition of auctioning the laddu started in 1994 with formation of Balapur Ganesh Utsav Committee.
For the first time when the laddu was auctioned, a local resident K Mohan Reddy bought it for Rs 450 only. The bid amount continued to rise year after year and Kolanu Mohan Reddy got it for Rs 4,500 in 1995, Kolanu Krishna Reddy wrested it for Rs 18,000 in 1996 and for Rs 28,000 in 1997, Again Kolanu Mohan Reddy got it for Rs 51,000 in 1998, Kallem Pratap Reddy for Rs 65,000 in 1999, Kallem Anji Reddy for Rs 66,000 in 2000, G Raghunandan Chary for Rs 85,000 in 2001, Kandada Madhava Reddy for Rs 1.05 lakh in 2002, Chigirinta Balreddy for Rs 1.55 lakh in 2003, Kolanu Mohan Reddy for Rs 2.01 lakh in 2004, Ibram Sekhar for Rs 2.08 lakh in 2005, Chigirinta Tirupathi Reddy for Rs 3 lakh in 2006, G Raghunandan Charay for Rs 4.15 lakh in 2007, Kolanu Mohan Reddy for Rs 5.07 lakh in 2008, Sarita for Rs 5.10 lakh in 2009, Kodali Sridhar Babu for Rs 5.35 lakh in 2010, Kolanu Bros for Rs 5.45 lakh in 2011, Pannala Govardhan Reddy for Rs 7.5 lakh in 2012, Teegala Kista Reddy for Rs 9.26 lakh in 2013, Singireddy Jaihind Reddy for Rs 9.50 lakh in 2014, Kolanu Madan Mohan Reddy for Rs 10.32 lakh in 2015, Skylab Reddy for Rs 14.65 lakh in 2016 and this year it was sold for Rs 15.60 lakh.
As the winners of the laddu prospered well, the demand for laddu has been rising every year. After the auction, the Utsav committee members felicitated Nagam Tirupati Reddy and presented him a 2-kg silver plate along with the laddu to him. Police had made elaborate bandobust on the occasion.
