PM mementos e-auction: With 282 bids, wooden model of Kashi Vishwanath temple top draw

The online auction of over 1,200 items, which started on September 17, is being conducted through the web portal pmmementos.gov.in. Other items lined up at this e-auction include angavastram, paintings, sculptures, handicrafts and folk artefacts.

With a starting price of Rs 16,200, the highest bid for the Kashi Vishwanath Temple model has reached Rs 49.61 lakh. (Express Photo)

A WOODEN model of the Kashi Vishwanath temple, which was presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath at the inauguration of the Kashi Vishwanath Dham last year, has garnered 282 bids, making it the most sought-after item at the e-auction of the Prime Minister’s mementos.

The highest bid for the item so far has been Rs 49.61 lakh, although the starting price was Rs 16,200.

A close second is the T-shirt autographed by the 65-member India team at the Deaflympics in Brazil 2022. It has got 222 bids, with the maximum going up to Rs 47.69 lakh. The badminton racket autographed by Thomas Cup gold medallist K Srikant has got 212 bids, going up to Rs 48.2 lakh. The base price for both items is Rs 5 lakh. Although the auction was supposed to conclude at 5 pm on Sunday, it has been extended for another 10 days.

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The 25 sports memorabilia, most of which have a starting price of Rs 5 lakh, are among the most bid items, ranging between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 47 lakh. A pair of red boxing gloves autographed by the men and women boxing contingent at the Common Wealth Games 2022, has got 181 bids, with Rs 44.13 lakh as the highest bid.

Also Read | What is the dispute around the Gyanvapi mosque-Kashi Vishwanath temple complex in Varanasi?

Among other sought-after items is the embellished replica of the Golden Temple with 100 bids, with the maximum going up to Rs 19.70 lakh, and a memento of the Chennai Chess Olympiad, with 125 bids, going at Rs 19.65 lakh.

A model of the under-construction Ram Temple in Ayodhya, placed inside a glass case, which was presented by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to the Prime Minister, has got 89 bids so far. Its highest quoted price is Rs 6.85 lakh. The black marble sculpture of Subhas Chandra Bose presented by sculptor Arun Yogiraj to the Prime Minister has 138 bids, going up to Rs 41.71 lakh.

The online auction of over 1,200 items, which started on September 17, is being conducted through the web portal pmmementos.gov.in. Other items lined up at this e-auction include angavastram, paintings, sculptures, handicrafts and folk artefacts.

Divya A

Divya A reports on travel, tourism, culture and social issues - not necessarily in that order - for The Indian Express. She's been a journalist for over a decade now, working with Khaleej Times and The Times of India, before settling down at Express. Besides writing/ editing news reports, she indulges her pen to write short stories. As Sanskriti Prabha Dutt Fellow for Excellence in Journalism, she is researching on the lives of the children of sex workers in India. ... Read More

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