The annual auction of the famed Balapur laddu of Lord Ganesh, fetched a record high price of Rs 17.6 lakh here on Thursday.
The auction on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi was won by one Kolan Ram Reddy who bought the laddu.
The open auction was held near the pandal premises.
The practice of auctioning the 'laddu', which is considered auspicious by people of the area was started in the year 1994.
It was brought for just Rs 450 in the initial year, and the tradition of auctioning the laddu continued each year, fetching Rs 10.32 lakh in the year 2010.
Last year, a person named Srinivas Gupta set a new record by taking home the laddu after winning the final bid at Rs 16.6 lakh.
A portion of the amount from the auction is kept aside for the Ganesh Puja celebrations for the subsequent year, while the rest of the amount is used by organisers for developmental programs in the Balapur area.
Till date, a total of Rs 46 lakh has been given by the organisation towards development and social work in the area.