Anantapur: The season for the annual diamond search has begun early this year due to thunderstorms prior to the Southwest monsoon reaching Rayalaseema region. Hundreds of people can be seen searching for precious stones in the dry lands of the mandals along the Anantapur-Kurnool border. Apart from local labourers and farmers, enthusiasts from nearby districts, including from Karnataka, test their fortune in the diamond hunt.
Normally, diamonds and gems are found during the rainy season in various parts of Tuggali, Jonnagiri, Pathikonda and Vajrakarur. The gems appear in the fields after the rain washes away many layers of the earth. Most of the lands in Tuggali, Jonnagiri and Maddikera have red soil with no groundwater facility.
There have been many instances of people chancing upon valuable gems. Ramaiah, a farmer of Jonnagiri, said “The fortune seekers arrive in the evening hours and spend time searching for valuable stones.”
The road between Jonnagiri and Tuggali witnesses a large number of parked vehicles. A woman labourer from Guntakal mandal reportedly got lucky in the Jonnagiri fields last week and she sold the stone to a local trader for Rs 17 lakh
