The ever luring diamond hunt in Kurnool

Kurnool, June 15: With the advent of monsoon, the hunt for diamonds begins in Kurnool district. This is a common phenomenon every year which turns many commoners rich overnight. The diamond hunt began with the belief that Srikrishnadevaraya of the Vijayanagara empire and his Minister Timmarusu have buried most expensive gems and diamonds near the Sarvanarasimha Swamy temple in Sirivella mandal headquarters. Diamonds worth lakhs, sometimes even crores of rupees, were found by a few people and that added zeal to the diamond lovers. According to reliable sources, diamonds worth Rs. 17 lakh, Rs. 2 lakh and Rs. 10 lakh were found recently in Jonnagiri village of Tuggali mandal, Peravali village of Maddikera mandal and other places. Every year, it was said people of Sirivella and Mahanandi manage to grab diamonds worth Rs. 4 crore while those of Maddiker and Tuggali mandals were getting Rs. 5 crore worth expensive stones. The craze and belief for diamond hunt is so widening that Tushar Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, also laid his eyes on this. He reportedly adopted Pagidirayi, P Kothur and Chinnajonnagiri for this purpose. He assured the villagers of allotting 25 per cent of the income he gets through the sale of diamonds found in these villages for their development. People from neighbouring states are also coming here to check their luck every year.