21-kg Balapur Ganesh laddu is up for grabs this year

Hyderabad: After a gap of one year, the famous Balapur Ganesh laddu will be up for grabs through an auction this year. The Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi, which organised Ganesh festivities on a low key due to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, has now decided to conduct the auction of 21-kg laddu on the last […]

Hyderabad: After a gap of one year, the famous Balapur Ganesh laddu will be up for grabs through an auction this year. The Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi, which organised Ganesh festivities on a low key due to the Covid-19 pandemic last year, has now decided to conduct the auction of 21-kg laddu on the last day of the festivities.

Last year, the Samithi did not organise the annual auction of the popular laddu due to the pandemic and instead, presented it to Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao. In the last auction held in 2019, Balapur resident Kolan Ram Reddy successfully bid for the laddu for a whopping Rs 17.60 lakh.

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The history of auctioning of the Balapur Ganesh laddu dates back to 1994, when it was successfully bid by Kolan Mohan Reddy for Rs 450. Since then, the tradition of auctioning the laddu has continued. Bidders believe that successfully bidding for the laddu will bring them health, wealth and prosperity.

The money generated through the auction is spent on construction and repairs of various temples and other developmental activities in Balapur.

“We could not auction the laddu last year due to the pandemic. This time, the laddu auction will be done on the last day of the festivities,” Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi president K Niranjan Reddy told Telangana Today.

Meanwhile, with the State government according permission for the festivities with strict adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols, the Samithi is organising the festivities on a grand note from Friday. The organisers have modelled the Ganesh pandal on the Tirupati Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple. Also, this time, devotees will be allowed to offer prayers amid Covid-19 safety measures. Last year, due to restrictions, devotees were not allowed at the pandal. Apart from the pandal’s design, another attraction will be that the 15-ft Ganesh idol will have moving eyes and ears.

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