Hyderabad: Every year with the onset the monsoon, it is believed that in many villages in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, precious stones show up after rain washes away layers of soil. After news of a lady finding a diamond worth Rs 17 lakhs last week, hundreds of locals and people from nearby districts have thronged to these villages to try their luck. CNN IBN corespondent Sakshi Khanna brings us ground report from Jonnagiri village.
With first rains of monsoon, as farmers begin to prepare their fields across the country, in Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district large number of people can be seen on the fields searching for precious stones. It is believed that in this diamond rich mining area, precious stones show up after rain washes away several layers of the earth. Not just the local farmers, but also people from nearby districts temporary shift to these villages to try their luck. Everyday, these diamond hunters will start the search early morning and continue till evening, looking for shining stones. . They use sticks or their bare hands to scrap the primary layer of soil in the pursuit of finding diamonds. RTC bus driver Ponnaiah came from Prakasam district 4 days back with his brother. He shows us the diamond he chanced upon after a long search. Another enthusiast Laxma Reddy, has been coming to Jonnagiri for last 3 years to search diamonds. He collects all glittering stones and hopes to get a good price by selling these precious stones to diamond merchants.
Ponnaiah said “me and my brother had been searching for diamond. I have found one. We plan to sell it off and this will solve our problems. Now we are returning back, but will come back again”
Another villager Laxma Reddy added that every year they come but this year they have finally found diamond. “Whatever amount in thousands or lakhs, we get, we will take. It will help me” he said.
But there are hundreds who have not been lucky yet. From women, elderly, children to jobless people everyone comes here with a hope to get rich. Goshiamma, has been visiting these fields, but every year she has failed to find any diamond, After hearing news of people chancing upon diamonds worth lakhs of rupees, people from nearby Anantapur, Kadapa , Guntur and other places of Andhra Pradesh and even Karnataka are testing their luck in these fields.
Goshiama said “others have got in my village, I am still searching, no success”.
Mohammad Rafi, another villager said “we heard it in news, so I have come from Anathapur, but i have not found anything till now”.
People in these villages say monsoon has turned commoners rich overnight. The diamond hunt has also turned out to be a lucrative business for diamond merchants who compete to buy the best diamonds that are found. However these diamond merchants also claim that most of the stones found are crystals and only very few chance upon real diamonds. According to unconfirmed estimates, people in various mandals are finding diamonds worth Rs 5 crore every year. With increasing number of people heading towards these villages, the local police and authorities have also become alert.
Noor mohammad, diamond dealer said “people find diamonds worth 2 , 3 or 10 thousand. It can go up to 5 or 10 lakhs. It has been reported last when someone got diamond worth 17 lakhs”.
Subra Rao, police inspector of Jonnagiri said “people come for one or two months then go back. We are requesting people to report to police station and then continue search to ensure anti-social elements don’t come here”.
Kurnool is a mining ground and diamonds are a result of Kimberlite stones in these areas. The diamond rich villages in the area include Jonnagir, Tuggali, Maddikera, Pagidirayi, Peravali, Mahanandi and Mahadevapuram. The diamond hunt continues during the Monsoon months from June to October. The more it rains, more is the chance of people finding diamonds and it seems people are willing to sacrifice their normal jobs in the hopes of finding one diamond.
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