Balapur Ganesh laddu fetches Rs.27 lakh

The 21-kg ‘Bangaru laddu’ (Golden laddu), as rhe locals refer to it, was bought by Dasari Dayanand Reddy of Turkayamjal in Ranga Reddy district at an open auction organized by Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi here on Thursday.

Hyderabad: Breaking all-time records, the famous Balapur Ganesh Laddu ‘Prasadam’ went under hammer for Rs. 27 lakh in its 30th year of auctioning.

The 21-kg ‘Bangaru laddu’ (Golden laddu), as rhe locals refer to it, was bought by Dasari Dayanand Reddy of Turkayamjal in Ranga Reddy district at an open auction organized by Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi here on Thursday. The auction that began at Rs.1,116 saw competitive bidding by 36 persons including Balapur non-locals.

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Dayanand Reddy said last year he participated in the auction and came second in the bidding at Rs.22.40 lakh. “By god’s grace, this time I could successfully bid for the laddu. I will be presenting the laddu as a gift to my parents,” he said. Last year, the laddu was successfully bid by a local farmer Vangeti Lakshma Reddy for Rs.24.60 lakh.

Starting next year, Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi decided to collect the auction amount of the previous year’s successful bid even from the Balapur locals to enroll their names for auctioning. So far, Balapur locals are given one-year time from the date of auction to pay the amount, while Balapur non-locals are enrolled for auctioning only after depositing previous year’s successful bid amount.

The auctioning of Balapur Ganesh laddu dates back to 1994, when it was bid by a local farmer, Kolan Mohan Reddy, for Rs 450. Mohan Reddy after distributing laddu prasadam to his family and locals, sprinkled it in his farm and the yield going up considerably resulted in the belief that the laddu here ushers in health, wealth and prosperity, took roots.