Gandhinagar: Over 500 gift items and
souvenirs, including a jersey used by champion batsman Sachin
Tendulkar`s in the 2003 Cricket World Cup, were on Friday donated
by Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to the state treasury
for auctioning.
The proceeds from the auction, which will be held later
in the year, will become part of the Chief Minister`s Girl
Child Education fund, where over Rs 10 crore has already been
collected in past 10 years through similar auctions.
"This year there are over 500 items which include gifts
and souvenirs received by the Chief Minister from various
corners of the country," Assistant Principal Secretary to Modi
G C Murmu told reporters here.
"All the items have been valued and its base price for
the auction has been fixed based on the metal and other
articles used in its making. The value of all the items that
is being donated today is over Rs 14 lakh," he said.
"Some items like the T-shirt donated by Sachin Tendulkar
could not be valued as it has emotions attached to it. Its
value would be ascertained only during the auction," Murmu
said.
The blue T-shirt bearing the name of the cricket maestro
with number `10` written on the back was given to Modi in May
this year by Tendulkar.
According to Murmu, ever since Modi became Chief
Minister, he has been auctioning off the gifts given to him to
fund the girl child education programme. Till date 6,634 gift
items have been auctioned and over Rs 10 crore have been
raised in the last 10 years, he added.
Other articles that would be auctioned include statues
made of silver and gold, handicrafts, paintings, items made of
various metals, shawls, coins, photographs, traditional
clothing, weapons made with intricate carvings and designs.
Gujarat government officials said that the Chief
Minister`s Girl Child Education Fund size has reached Rs 48.78
crore in the last 10 years through donations from various
corners.
Out of this, Rs 15.54 crore has been disbursed among over
42,000 girls for their education.
PTI
