Indian official orders to drain reservoir to recover phone he lost while taking selfie
Kherkatta Dam
Rajesh Vishwas, a food officer in India's Chhattisgarh state has been suspended on Friday after he allegedly asked to drain a reservoir to retrieve his lost phone which was fallen down while taking a selfie. The officer was posted at Pakhanjur town in Kanker district.
Media reports have mentioned that around two million litres (440,000 gallons) of water was pumped out of the reservoir for a phone worth about $1,200.
The water of the Kherkatta Dam was emptied in over two days, which started on Tuesday.
Vishwas' suspension was confirmed by Kanker Collector Priyanka Shukla, who said as mentioned by media reports:"The official had no authority to drain the water. Hence, he has been suspended."
Shukla told The National newspaper, "He has been suspended until an inquiry. Water is an essential resource and it cannot be wasted like this."
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Media reports mentioned that Vishwas had gone to Paralkot reservoir for a picnic with friends on May 21, but he dropped his phone into the 10-foot-deep reservoir.
Reports claimed that Vishwas said his phone slipped out of his hand while taking a selfie, and he had to get it back as the device had official departmental data.
What didRajesh Vishwas say?
Vishwas told The Indian Express, "Since I am a local, some villagers who know swimming dove in to find my phone. They looked for it for two days. When they failed to locate it by Tuesday, they suggested draining the water by a few feet."
"I said the phone would be damaged by now, but the locals, who share a good rapport with me, insisted that they would find it for me," he added.
He further added, "I called up the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the Water Resources Department (RC Dhivar), who gave oral permission as it was just a few feet of water. On Tuesday night, I hired a diesel pump for Rs 7,500 and drained around three feet of water from the reservoir over a period of two days."
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