Hyderabad: As the Vinayaka Chavithi celebrations come to an end on Tuesday, all eyes are now on the highly anticipated Balapur Ganesh laddu auction. Many people are eager to see if this year’s auction will break the record set last year, when the laddu was sold for a whopping Rs. 27 lakh.
In 2022, a real estate builder named Dasari Dayananda Reddy from Turkayamjal won the 21-kg “Bangaru laddu” (Golden Laddu) for Rs. 27 lakh. This year, the competition is expected to be even fiercer, especially after a 5 kg laddu in Bandlaguda was sold for Rs. 1.26 crore recently.
New Rules and More Participants
The Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi (BGUC) has introduced new rules to make the auction more competitive. Now, participants must deposit the amount of the previous year’s winning bid to take part. This is a change from earlier years when winners were given a year to make the payment. These new rules have already attracted five new participants, raising the stakes for this year’s auction.
The base bid for the auction will start at Rs. 1,116. With more people joining, some speculate that the bid could go beyond Rs. 30 lakh or even reach Rs. 1 crore.
A Tradition with Meaning
The tradition of auctioning the Balapur laddu began in 1994, when a local farmer named Kolan Mohan Reddy won the bid for Rs. 450. Over the years, the laddu has gained a reputation for bringing prosperity and health to the winning bidder, making it highly sought after.
The money raised from the auction is used for charitable causes. These include developing local temples, improving schools, and enhancing community safety with things like CCTV installations.
A Grand Event
Today, the Balapur Ganesh will be honored with a grand puja and a procession, leading up to the much-anticipated auction. So far, 36 participants have registered, and more are expected to join. The auction is set to be one of the main highlights of the Ganesh festivities in Hyderabad.
As the city waits for the auction’s outcome, the big question remains: Will this year’s laddu surpass last year’s record bid, or even come close to the remarkable figures seen in other auctions? The answer will soon be revealed as the Balapur laddu takes center stage once again.
