Hyderabad: The Balapur laddu was auctioned for Rs 14.65 lakh on Thursday.
A businessman from Keesara in Rangareddy, K. Skylab Reddy, bought the laddu, after a fierce contest with one M. Balwanth Reddy. Last year, it was sold for Rs 10.32 lakh.
The Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi was founded in 1980 but the auctioning of the laddu began in 1994 and a villager bought the first laddu for Rs 450. The very next year, the laddu’s price increased 10 times — to Rs 4,500 and in 2002, it crossed Rs 1 lakh mark.
It is believed the laddu, when sprinkled in agricultural fields, brings good luck.
The organisers utilise the money the laddu brings for the development of the village.
Besides Balapur, Ganesh laddus at various pandals in the city, too, were auctioned. One Prashanth Naidu won a laddu at Rs 9,99,999 at an auction at Madhura Nagar Ganesh pandal near Jubilee Hills.
The Badungpet laddu was auctioned for Rs 5.41 lakh. At Manchirevula in Rajendranagar, a laddu was bought by a local sarpanch, M Praveen Yadav, for Rs 7.25 lakh.
The laddu of the Huda Center Ganesha at Sherilingampally fetched Rs 5.11 lakh and a laddu of Ganesha at the Srilakshmi Ambika Apartments at the same place, was auctioned for Rs 1.83 lakh.
