Balapur laddu fetches record Rs 14.65 lakh!

Hyderabad, Sept.15: The famous Balapur Ganesh Laddu fetched a record breaking price of Rs 14.65 lakh in the open auction held before the start of Ganesh immersion procession here on Thursday. Excitement and surprises marked the Balapur laddu auction. A Keesara businessman one Skylab Reddy wrested the laddu for Rs 14.65 lakh weighing about 21 kg. A total of 25 devotees, including 16 participated in last year’s auction and nine new members, participated in the nail biting auction. At last Skylab Reddy got the laddu prasadam. “It is a great fortune to be able to get the Lord’s precious laddu in the auction,” a delighted Skylab Reddy said. He said he has been trying to get the laddu since the last two years and won the “battle” this year. He said he would distribute the laddu among the devotees. Started with last year’s Rs. 10.32 lakh, the auction went up to Rs. 14.65 lakh with the competitors increasing their quotation by thousands at a time. Former Mayor and MLA Teegala Krishna Reddy also participated in the auction and gave up after bidding Rs 9 lakh. Manne Balwanth Reddy quoted Rs 14.62 lakh, Kolanu Ram Reddy Rs 13.80 lakh, Shailendar Reddy Rs 12.85 lakh. The funds yielded from the laddu are spent on the village development and welfare activities. It may be mentioned here that last year Balapur Ganesh laddu was purchased by a local resident Kallem Madan Mohan Reddy for Rs 10.32 lakh. The bidding started around 9.30 am. After special pujas, Balapur Ganesh was taken in a procession followed by devotees. The tradition of auctioning laddu started in 1980 with formation of Balapur Ganesh Utsav Committee. First time the laddu was auctioned and bought by one K Mohan Reddy, a local resident for Rs. 450. The bid amount continued to rise year after year and Kolanu Mohan Reddy got it for Rs 4,500 in 1995, Kolanu Krishna Reddy wrested it for Rs 18,000 in 1996 and for Rs 28,000 in 1997, Kolanu Mohan Reddy got it for Rs 51,000 in 1998, Kallem Pratap Reddy for Rs 65,000 in 1999, Kallen Ani Reddy for Rs 66,000 in 2000, G Raghunandan Chary for Rs 85,000 in 2001, Kandada Madhava Reddy for Rs 1.05 lakh in 2002, Chigirinta Balreddy for Rs 1.55 lakh in 2003, Kolanu Mohan Reddy for Rs 2.01 lakh in 2004, Ibram Sekhar for Rs 2.08 lakh in 2005, Chigirinta Tirupathi Reddy for Rs 3 lakh in 2006, G Raghunandan Charay for Rs 4.15 lakh in 2007, Kolanu Mohan Reddy for Rs 5.07 lakh in 2008, Sarita for Rs 5.10 lakh in 2009, Kodali Sridhar Babu for Rs 5.35 lakh in 2010, Kolanu Bros for Rs 5.45 lakh in 2011, Pannala Govardhan Reddy for Rs 7.5 lakh in 2012, Teegala Kista Reddy for Rs 9.26 lakh in 2013, Singireddy Jaihind Reddy for Rs 9.50 lakh in 2014, Kolanu Madan Mohan Reddy for Rs 10.32 in 2015 and this year it was sold for Rs 14.65 lakh. After the laddu auction, the Utsav committee members felicitated Skylab Reddy and also presented two kilogram silver along with the laddu to the successful bidder. Police had made elaborate bandobust on the occasion.