A debt-ridden labourer in Central India had his life “changed forever,” after he unearthed a 19.22-carat diamond worth $95,500, or ₹80 lakh.
Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, 40-year-old Raju Gond and his younger brother Rakesh work in the fields and in the diamond mines to provide for their family. They earn around ₹800 daily to dig for gold in a 690-square-foot plot of government land. They were mining on a plot in Krishna Kalyanpur when Raju “made his fortuitous find”, reported CNN.
Gond could tell that the rock he had laid his hands upon had to be a diamond, given its spectacular shine. “It shone spectacularly; I knew it was a diamond right then!” Gond told CNN.
Soon after, the Gond brothers got onto their bikes and travelled home to share the news with their family. Later, the duo took their mother to the local Panna Diamond Office to have the stone evaluated.
The diamond examiner, Anupam Singh, told CNN it is “a white diamond of 19.22 carat.” It was valued at about $95,500. Panna, the city in Madhya Pradesh, is known for its rich diamond reserves, added the diamond examiner.
Anupam Singh further recounted instances in the past when miners have found several diamonds here. “In 1961, someone found a 54.55-carat diamond, then in 2018, someone found a 42-carat diamond, and now this,” he said, adding that some miners had also found smaller diamonds earlier this year.
The report also mentioned that the government leases shallow mines to families who want to look for gemstones under the supervision of local officials. According to Anupam Singh, the government takes an 11.5% royalty for any find and levies a small tax. CNN stated that the remaining amount gets credited to the miner.
According to the CNN report, the monsoon weather, which had washed away Gond’s work opportunities, actually proved to be a boon in disguise. “Rather than sit at home, the family felt compelled to search for diamonds,” mentioned the news report.
