Fancy price for fancy number
Registration number KL01-AZ-1 fetches Rs.9.25 lakh
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Rich businessmen and IT professionals vied with one another in an auction held by the Motor Vehicles Department on Wednesday for securing the fancy registration number KL01-AZ-1.
The number was much sought after since the registration mark commenced with the first and the last English alphabets.
The MVD conducted an auction as 13 car owners had applied to the Regional Transport Officer for the number, paying the initial amount of Rs.2,000.
S.R. Krishnakumar, Director and CEO of Ariva Med Data Infotech, secured the fancy number for a record Rs.9.25 lakh. Sreelatha Unnikrishnan who participated in the auction offered the nearest amount of Rs.9 lakh.
A record
An official said Rs.9.25 lakh was the highest for a fancy registration number in the State topping Rs.7.26 lakh for the registration number KL-01-AX-1. The auctions for the number and two others were held by Regional Transport Officer K.N. Gopi. “It is for the BMW X5 that costs Rs.75 lakh, which is yet to reach the State.
The significance of having the first and the last English alphabets made me participate in the auction and to get it at any cost,” said Mr. Krishnakumar, a resident of Palkulangara.
The other two fancy numbers auctioned on Wednesday KL-01-AY-99 and KL-01-AY-7777 went for Rs.1 lakh and Rs.50,000. Both the numbers were bagged by Ms. Unnikrishnan.
For ‘AK-47'
Competitive bidding was witnessed for the registration number KL-01 AK-47 in the capital in 2005 due to its association with the Russian assault rifle.
In 1999, the fancy number KL-01 P-7000 was sold to V. Sunil Kumar for Rs.1.5 lakh in an auction held in the city.
The department had drawn up rules to prevent vehicle owners from booking the fancy registration number without registering the vehicle, hiking the minimum amount from Rs.2,000 to Rs.3,000, grouping fancy numbers in six slabs and adopting tender-cum- auction procedure.
http://www.hindu.com/2010/09/30/stories/2010093062300300.htm
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