#Indian farmer gets rich after finding 14.98-carat diamond

An indigenous farmer in India said his life is completely changed after he found a 14.98-carat rock worth more than 6 million rupees, or about $80,000, the Times of India reported.

Lakhan Yadav, 45, dug up the sparkler on land he started renting last month for a mere 200 rupees ($2.70) in Madhya Pradesh. It was later sold for 60.6 lakh, where each lakh is 100,000 rupees.

Yadav told the Times on Sunday that the buried treasure revealed itself in a handful of dirt, and that he nearly mistook the precious gem for a pebble. “It has changed my life,” he said.

His is one in a recent pattern of big scores in the region, leading prospectors to believe it may be filled with diamond-studded dirt, according to the Times.

When asked what he planned to do with his newfound riches, Yadav said, “I will not go for anything big. I am not an educated person, and I’ll put the money in a fixed deposit to ensure my four kids get good education.”

The devoted father explained that he’d already treated himself to a motorcycle, along with 2 hectares of land and two buffaloes, purchased with compensation he received after Panna National Park officials displaced his family to make way for the tiger reserve there, according to the Environmental Justice Atlas.

“I bought the motorcycle because my nephews insisted,” he told the Times. “I was happy with my bicycle.”

Yadav, whose name indicates his association with the pastoral-peasant Yadav community of rural northern India, won’t rest, either.

“I hope to get another diamond. I’ll work on it a few more months, perhaps get the lease renewed,” he said.