MUMBAI: The annual auction of gold and silver offerings at the Lalbaugcha Raja Ganeshotsav Mandal netted Rs 1.09 crore Thursday. The highlight was a golden idol of Lord Ganesh weighing 1.2 kg which sold for Rs 35.75 lakh. A
gold bar was purchased for Rs 31.25 lakh. The winning bid for a
Rolex watch was Rs 4 lakh.
The erstwhile three-day auction has been reduced to a single day so a vast number of devotees converged to bid for this "prasad".
During the ten-day festival, the mandal received 5.5 kg gold and 75 kg silver. Devotees deposited 57 gold ornaments and 50 items of silver jewellery in a special
hundi used to collect bullion.
Mandal president Balasaheb Kamble said, ``We have received cash offerings amounting to Rs 6.5 crore. The proceeds of today's auction bring the total annual collection to approximately Rs 7.5 crore. A few bunches of currency notes are still to be counted so the final figure may rise by Rs 15 lakh. Each year the amount varies by 5-10%.''
The mandal had earned a record collection of Rs 11.5 crore in 2008 which was its 75th anniversary.
The gold idol weighing 1.2 kg
