Hyderabad: All eyes on Balapur Ganesh laddu auction as festivities conclude on Tuesday
This year's auction set for Tuesday morning has already evoked interest among the devotees and prospective bidders.
Hyderabad: With Vinayaka Chavithi festivities concluding on Tuesday, the Balapur Ganesh laddu auction is garnering huge traction with expectations that bids will easily surpass the last year’s record price of Rs.27 lakh.
The 21-kg ‘Bangaru laddu’ (Golden laddu), as the locals refer to it, was bought by Dasari Dayananda Reddy of Turkayamjal during the last year festivities. This year’s auction set for Tuesday morning has already evoked interest among the devotees and prospective bidders. While previous successful bidders are eligible for participation, five new candidates confirmed their participation till Sunday.
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More participants are expected to join the race for laddu prasadam until Tuesday morning, said Kallem Niranjan Reddy president Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi.
Starting this year, Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi has made certain changes in the bidding process.
Like in case of non-locals, it will now be mandatory for Balapur locals also to deposit previous year’s successful bid amount as a base amount, to be able to participate in bidding. Till now, the locals were given one year time to pay the amount.
Before the dawn breaks on Tuesday, Balapur Ganesh will be offered grand puja and taken out for procession around the area before commencing the auction.
The auctioning of Balapur Ganesh laddu prasadam 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.
The proceeds from the laddu auctioning goes to charitable causes, including development of temples, infrastructure in the local government school, and installation of CCTV cameras.
Balapur Laddu auction:
| Year | Bidder | Amount (Rs.) |
| 1994 | Kolan Mohan Reddy | 450 |
| 1995 | Kolan Mohan Reddy | 4,500 |
| 1996 | Kolan Krishna Reddy | 18,000 |
| 1997 | Kolan Krishna Reddy | 28,000 |
| 1998 | Kolan Mohan Reddy: | 51,000 |
| 1999 | Kallem Anji Reddy | 65,000 |
| 2000 | Kallem Pratap Reddy | 66,000 |
| 2001 | G Raghunandan Chary | 85,000 |
| 2002 | Kandada Madhava Reddy | 1,05,000 |
| 2003 | Chigirintha Bala Reddy | 1,55,000 |
| 2004 | Kolan Mohan Reddy | 2,01,000 |
| 2005 | Ibram Shekar | 2,08,000 |
| 2006 | Chigirinta Tirupati Reddy | 3,00,000 |
| 2007 | G Raghunandan Chary | 4,15,000 |
| 2008 | Kolan Mohan Reddy | 5,07,000 |
| 2009 | Saritha | 5,10,000 |
| 2010 | Kodali Sridhar Babu | 5,35,000 |
| 2011 | Kolan Brothers | 5,45,000 |
| 2012 | Pannala Goverdhan Reddy | 7,50,000 |
| 2013 | Teegala Krishna Reddy | 9,26,000 |
| 2014 | Singi Reddy Jaihind Reddy | 9,50,000 |
| 2015 | Kallem Madhan Mohan Reddy | 10,32,000 |
| 2016 | Kandhadi Skylab Reddy | 14,65,000 |
| 2017 | Nagam Thirupathi Reddy | 15,60,000 |
| 2018 | Teretipalli Srinivas Guptha | 16,60,000 |
| 2019 | Kolan Ram Reddy | 17,60,000 |
| 2020 | Presented to CM | —— |
| 2021 | Ramesh Yadav & Marri Shashank Reddy | 18,90,000 |
| 2022 | Vangeti Lakshma Reddy | 24,60,000 |
| 2023 | Dasari Dayananda Reddy | 27,00,000 |
