Diamond fever draws thousands to Indian village

Fed by tantalising tales of diamonds washed up by monsoon rains, thousands of fortune hunters have rushed to a southern Indian village to hunt for the precious stones.

Police today cordoned off Paritala, on the coast of southeastern state of Andhra Pradesh, to protect the wealth - if there is any - for the government.

That has not stopped a surge of men, women and children arriving on everything from tractors to three-wheel vehicles.

Diamonds have been found in the area in the past, but the so-called gems this time might be worthless, said the state’s Mines and Geology Department joint director, Rajgopal.

‘‘The area is also known to have transparent quartz,’’ said Rajgopal, who uses only one name. ‘‘It is possible that the people are mistaking them for diamonds.’’

Lakshmi Kumari, an administrative officer for the region 217 miles east of the state capital, Hyderabad, said gem prospecting takes place annually after seasonal rains.

But this year, rumours of big diamond discoveries had produced a rush.

Newspapers have fed the frenzy with reports of villagers finding large numbers of precious stones worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.