21-kg Balapur Ganesh laddu fetches record ₹39 lakh at auction
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The famous 21–kg Balapur Ganesh laddu fetched a record ₹39 lakh at the annual auction on Friday (September 25, 2026) with Sama Praneeth Reddy, founder of Urban Group Private Limited, placing the winning bid.
The auction, which is held every year as part of the Balapur Ganesh festivities, has become one of the most anticipated events of the Ganesh festival in Hyderabad. The winning bid was ₹4 lakh higher than the ₹35 lakh fetched by the laddu in 2025.
A total of nine bidders participated in this year’s auction. Before the bidding began, members of the Balapur Ganesh Utsav Samithi offered prayers to Lord Ganesh and sought rain, amid a deficiency in rainfall this year.
The auction was held after the 18-foot-tall Ganesh idol was taken on a ceremonial tour through the lanes of Balapur. The procession allowed residents and devotees gathered along the route to catch a glimpse of the idol before the auction and subsequent immersion procession.
The auction and the procession were delayed by about an hour. Following the auction, the Shobha Yatra began its 18-km journey towards Hussain Sagar, where the idol will be immersed.
The Balapur Ganesh laddu auction traces its origins to 1994, when a similar offering was sold for ₹450. It was bought by farmer Kolan Mohan Reddy. Since then, the auction value has risen steadily, turning the laddu into a symbol of the Balapur Ganesh celebrations and attracting increasing interest from bidders each year.
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