Ganesh laddu goes for whopping ₹14.65 lakh

Auction of laddu at Balapur Ganesh pandal in the city limits has fetched a record ₹14.65 lakh here.

In a hotly contested auction where there were about 25 participants, Skylab Reddy’s bid was announced as the highest pipping others in the fray.

Over the past years, auction of laddu at Balapur Ganesh pandal and some other locations in Hyderabad on the 11th day of the occasion Ganesh immersion, have been much-anticipated events where people take part in large numbers to see who would be the new winner. This year’s bid at Balapur was higher by more than ₹4 lakh over last year’s auction price. Skylab Reddy as the name suggests was named after space station Skylab. After being declared winner in the auction, an aspiring politician, Skylab Reddy said he plans to distribute the laddu to people in the Medchal village, where he comes from.

Popular event

The auction of laddus during the Ganesh festival has become popular over the years. What started with a couple of hundred in the mid-1990s has gone on to fetch a few lakhs, with each passing year quoting a higher price.

Significantly, several of those who had successfully bid for the laddu at Balapur pandal have gone on to become political leaders. Skylab Reddy too expects this would bring him goodluck.

Similar auctions were conducted in some other locations in the city