Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to take part in the auction of several gifts and mementoes that he has received over the years and said the proceeds would go to the ‘Namami Gange’ initiative.
“Over time, I have received several gifts and mementos which are being auctioned. This includes the special mementos given by our Olympics heroes. Do take part in the auction. The proceeds would go to the Namami Gange initiative,” the Prime Minister tweeted.
The e-auction, being organised by the ministry of culture, started on Friday, on the occasion of the Prime Minister’s birthday, and will continue till October 7. This is the third edition of such an auction, in which individuals or organisations can participate via the website: https://pmmementos.gov.in.
“The memorabilia includes sports gear and equipment of the medal-winning Olympians and Paralympians, a replica of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir, Char Dham, Rudraksh Convention Centre, models, sculptures, paintings, ‘angavastram’ among others,” the ministry had said in a statement.
Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain’s boxing gloves received the highest bid at the e-auction. Borgohain’s gloves with a base price of ₹80 lakh, received a bid of ₹1.92 crore. Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra’s javelin got a bid of ₹1.5 crore. Chopra’s javelin had a base price of ₹1 crore at the auction organised by the culture ministry.
{{/usCountry}}Olympic bronze medalist Lovlina Borgohain’s boxing gloves received the highest bid at the e-auction. Borgohain’s gloves with a base price of ₹80 lakh, received a bid of ₹1.92 crore. Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra’s javelin got a bid of ₹1.5 crore. Chopra’s javelin had a base price of ₹1 crore at the auction organised by the culture ministry.
{{/usCountry}}Other items at the auction included Paralympian Avani Lekhara and Bhavani Patel’s t-shirts. The racquet that PV Sindhu used in her bronze medal-winning Olympic match was also a part of the auction.
Apart from sports gear, the e-auction also includes a replica of the Kedarnath Temple and the Statue of Unity, along with the portraits and photographs of the Prime Minister. The base price of Modi’s photograph and portraits are ₹2 lakh.
In 2019, the government had auctioned more than 4,000 gifts received by the prime minister. Proceeds of the previous auction also went to the Namami Gange Programme.
Namami Gange is an integrated conservation and rejuvenation programme initiated by the Central government in June 2014. It aims to ensure containment of pollution and conservation of the river Ganga.