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Wooden Ashok Stambh replica, Lord Shiva statuette fetch high bids in auction of PM’s gifts
The fortnight-long auction, which came to a close on Saturday evening, was held to raise funds for the Centre’s flagship project ‘Namami Gange’ to clean and conserve the river Ganga.
A wooden replica of the Ashok Stambh was sold for ₹13 lakh while a statue of Lord Shiva fetched ₹10 lakh as the auction of gifts Prime Minister Narendra Modi has received during his term in office concluded on Saturday.
Gujarat’s Surat Jila Yuva Morcha had gifted Modi the replica that weighs 3.612 kg. It had a base price of ₹4,000.
The two items were among the over 1,800 mementos auctioned for a fortnight. An e-auction followed on January 29 after two-day physical one at Delhi’s National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA). The e-auction was conducted through the website pmmementos.gov.in.
The proceeds from this auction will go towards supporting Namami Gange, a flagship programme of the Center for cleaning Ganga, a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The statement said a Horai, a traditional Assamese tray, which had a base price of ₹2000, was auctioned for ₹12 lakh.
NGMA director general Adwaita Gadanayak said they have been able to auction all the items. “The total revenue that has been collected will be known soon when we get the receipts from the buyers.
Manendra Jain, a Delhi-resident who bought 14 items worth around 2.60 lakh, lauded the culture ministry for looking for an alternate source of revenue for a noble cause. “It was a motivating experience for those who want to connect with schemes like Namami Gange. I used the incentive that I got from my organisation to buy the items.”
Praveen Jain, a businessman from Ghaziabad, said he bought three items during the physical auction. “The items in the e-auction were beyond my budget. Most of them were very expensive.”
Among the other mementos sold at the auction included a Gautam Buddha statue. The statue had a base price of ₹4,000 was auctioned for ₹7 lakh. A brass statue of a lion, received from former Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, was auctioned for ₹5.20 lakh.
