NEW DELHI, Feb. 10 (Xinhua) -- The fortnight long process of auctioning more than 1,800 mementoes received by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the past five years has successfully completed attracting tremendous response, said government sources on Sunday.
The process consisted of two parts a physical auction followed by an e-auction. The proceeds from this auction will go towards supporting the noble cause of cleaning up the holy river 'Ganga'.
A traditional brass statue of a lion received from former Nepali prime minister Sushil Koirala was auctioned for 520,000 Indian Rupees (approximately 7,428 U.S. dollars). A silver vase with embossing with a base price of 10,000 Indian Rupees (around 143 U.S. dollars) was auctioned for 600,000 Indian Rupees (around 8,571 U.S. dollars).
Similarly, many other mementoes fetched an auction value several times their base price, said an official press release. The total proceeds collected from the auction, however, could not be known.
Modi used to auction mementoes received by him even during his tenure as the chief minister of western state of Gujarat, and used the proceeds for girl education.
