Balapur Laddu for KCR

Hyderabad: The famous Balapur Laddu prasadam will be handed over to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao as the Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi did not auction the Laddu this year in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. On the last day of festivities on Tuesday, the Utsav Samithi took out idol immersion yatra in a subdued manner.

It was the first time in the last 26 years the laddu was not auctioned. The laddu has been fetching huge amounts in auction every year.

In the first auction in 1994, a local farmer Kolan Mohan Reddy had bid the laddu for Rs 450 in the auction. As each year passed, the bids for the laddu increased and the auction gained more popularity in the Greater Hyderabad limits. The Balapur village people consider the laddu as Bangaru Laddu (Golden Laddu) as it is believed to usher in health, wealth and prosperity for them. Last year, the giant laddu fetched a staggering Rs 17.60 lakh in the auction.

The money generated through the auctioning of the laddu is used for various developmental activities in the village. Following corona restrictions, the Ganesh Utsav Samithi had reduced the size of the Ganesh idol to six feet as against 21 feet every year.

Adhering strictly to the safety norms, the utsav samithi did not allow devotees to perform regular puja and did not permit darshan by outsiders. A procession with limited members with Ganesh idol started in the morning . The idol was immersed in Hussainsagar lake late in the night.