Diamond hunting in Anantapur, Kurnool regions on in monsoon season

ANANTAPUR: A miracle of every monsoon in the agricultural fields between Guntakal and Pathikonda areas in Anantapur and Kurnool district borders has happened this time, again.

The dry lands have turned out to be spots for the hunting of diamonds and precious stones.

A farmer chanced on a big diamond while he was engaged in farming operations for the kharif season in Basinepalli of Maddikera mandal in the Kurnool district. He sold it to a trader for a price of ₹2 crore. The revenue and police reportedly have no complaint as the traders formed a syndicate and created a veil of secrecy, reports said.

Rayalaseema had been known for trading precious stones and diamonds during the Vijaynagar Empire. Diamonds were sold like vegetables in the market of Hampi in those days.

Areas in Kurnool and Anantapur districts have been favourite spots for diamond hunters testing their luck during the monsoon season every year.

The dry lands in Tuggali, Jonnagiri, Maddikere in Kurnool and Vajrakarur in Anantapur districts had precious stones appearing in the dry lands during the rainy season for decades.

Sources say a farmer found a big diamond while doing cultivation in Basineapalli village in Maddikera mandal. The professional traders in the area fixed a deal with the farmer and purchased it for ₹2 cr. This may be the first sighting of a diamond during the present season.

Diamond hunters from various parts of AP and TS have been rushing to these areas to try their luck and make good money.

No research has been conducted on how precious stones appear on the surface of dry lands exclusively during the monsoon period. A mines and geology official stressed the need for research in such areas.

In 2019, a farmer reportedly found a diamond that fetched him ₹60 lakhs. In 2020, two villagers found two precious stones worth ₹5 lakhs and ₹6 lakhs and sold them to local merchants for just ₹ 1.5 lakhs and ₹50,000, respectively.

Last year,  a person who got a stone sold it for ₹40 lakh. Another person in the Jonnagiri area reportedly found a 30-carat diamond and sold it to a local merchant for ₹1.2 crore a year ago.

Thousands of people these days leave their daily jobs and move into makeshift tents in diamond-rich villages to test their luck.

However, neither revenue nor police officials have shown any interest in law enforcement. Merchants from local and other parts, with the help of middlemen, have been fixing the deals.

Gooty town in Anantapur district has become a shelter for diamond hunters and rooms in lodges were reportedly booked by many merchants and hunters this season.