Illegal quarry of precious stones in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad: Illegal quarrying of coloured, precious and semi-precious stones, known locally as rangu rallu is continuing in AP and Telangana despite measures by the forest department to control the menace.

This is mainly due to the high demand for the stones in other states, mainly Gujarat and Rajasthan.

In Telangana, coloured stones are smuggled out of Kothagudem in Khammam district whereas in Andhra Pradesh the prime centres are agency areas of Vizag and neighbouring Vizianagaram.

These areas are part of Eastern Ghats mobile belt, a geographical region very rich in minerals as well as coloured and gemstones.

Illegal quarrying of these stones is resulting in degradation of the forests.

An earlier research of the EGMB by Andhra University geologists had found deposits of a variety of precious and semi-precious stones like alexandrite, chrysoberyl, cat’s eye, aquamarine, ruby, moonstone, garnet, tourmaline, sillimanite, zircon, epidote, rock crystal, citrine, rose-quartz, smoky quartz and green quartz in these areas.

While in Telangana five-six villages are notorious for smuggling coloured stones, in Andhra Pradesh the number of villages is more, including Paderu, Araku, Dumbriguda, Narsipatnam, Eleswaram, Bhawanipatna, Elamanchili, Payakaraopeta, Addateegela, Karaka and Krishnadevipeta.

Illegal smuggling of these stones is said to have turned the fortunes of many locals in these villages.

However, the main beneficiaries of this illegal trade are the stone dealers from other states and also local politicians and not the villagers who risk their lives and future to mine these stones.

Often, hotels located near these areas are said to be occupied by contractors who oversee the smuggling work.

While precious stones go to the jewellery market, normal coloured stones end up with sellers of marble and granite. The coloured stones are used in construction activity for creating mosaics.

Recently, forest officials from Kothagudem seized 600 kg of coloured stones.

A flying squad of the Telangana Forest department apprehended a gang, which had smuggled into Hyderabad, an unusual destination, coloured stones worth '1.6 lakh.