Could Telangana give us another Koh-i-noor?

By NewsGram Staff Writer

The land of Telangana has a rich history, especially in association with diamonds. The once famed diamond mines of Golkonda, which yielded legendary diamonds like the Koh-i-noor, Darya-e Nur, Nur-Ul-Ain, the Hope Diamond, the Regent Diamond, Wittelsbach Diamond etc., belonged to this very region.

During the pre-colonial and the colonial times, Golkonda was synonymous with vast wealth and was known for roadside shops which sold heaps of diamonds and gems.

A new research by a team from the Osmania University's Centre of Exploration Geophysics has found that Mahbubnagar, the region of Telangana which is usually plagued by recurrent droughts, could potentially turn out to be the next Golkonda.

The team has identified as many as 21 potential points along Mahbubnagar and the villages adjoining borders with Gulbarga and other villages of Karnataka.

The road between Raichur and Mahbubnagar has many potential zones, the team has identified, proving the fabled diamond potentiality of Mahbubnagar.

After carrying out an aeromagnetic survey of the entire area, Professor G. Ramadass mentioned that the diamond zones could be located 1.2 kms below the surface and more ground research may lead to the actual discovery of plenty of diamonds in the area.

"We have found kimberlite pipes at 21 places. Though not all kimberlite pipes bear diamonds, there have been instances where diamond zones were found in Mahbubnagar. We need to undertake further studies to explore the diamond-bearing potentiality of these places," he said, as quoted by The Times of India.

It has also been reported that many government and commercial organizations are scrounging the area with an aim to locate diamonds. The discovery of diamonds from the area will be a huge plus for the economy of the nascent state of Telangana, and it will also give the Indian economy a good boost.