Siddhi Vinayak temple nets ₹60 L in jewellery auction

The Siddhi Vinayak temple trust in Mumbai earned ₹60.09 lakh through an auction of 117 gold items. The auction included various gold jewellery items and was seen as a way for devotees to bring home blessings. The temple authorities regarded the auction as a way of giving back to the devotees who had donated the items.

Mumbai: The Siddhi Vinayak temple trust at Prabhadevi earned ₹60.09 lakh on Monday by selling 117 gold items through an auction. The auction was conducted from 11am to 5pm and items on sale included gold chains, lockets, small modaks, coconuts, and various other gold jewellery like 18, 22 and 24 carat necklaces and chokers.

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A stage was set up inside the temple premises for the auction, where a lady announced the “boli” or “neelami” of a certain item that was flashed on an adjacent screen. For devotees, buying the jewellery was akin to bringing home blessings of the Vignaharita.

“We are satisfied with the thought that the jewellery and ornaments once touched the feet of the sacred idol,” said a devotee who bought a necklace.

Temple authorities too regarded the auction as giving back to devotees, who had donated the items placed on auction in 2019. The government has also stipulated certain rules for such auctions to ensure temples don’t recover jewellery making charges from devotees.

“We had put out 217 items worth ₹82.35 lakh for the auction. Among them, 117 items or roughly 73% of the stock was sold,” said Veena More-Patil, chief executive, Siddhi Vinayak temple trust. She said the valuation of ornaments was as per the current market rate for gold including GST charges, while an additional ₹100 additional was levied during the auction, when the cost was decided items were sold.

A similar auction was held on the occasion of Kojagauri Puja in October 2022, after over 2.5 kg gold was offered to the deity by devotees.