India official drains entire dam to retrieve phone

[beijingwalker]

India official drains entire dam to retrieve phone​

Mattea Bubalo - BBC News​

Fri, May 26, 2023 at 10:56 PM EDT

The Kherkatta reservoir in Chhattisgarh, India

A government official in India has been suspended after he ordered a reservoir to be drained to retrieve his phone.

It took three days to pump millions of litres of water out of the dam, after Rajesh Vishwas dropped the device while taking a selfie.

By the time it was found, the phone was too water-logged to work.

Mr Vishwas claimed it contained sensitive government data and needed retrieving, but he has been accused of misusing his position.

The food inspector dropped his Samsung phone, worth about $1,200 (100,000 rupees), into Kherkatta Dam, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, on Sunday.

After local divers failed to find it, he paid for a diesel pump to be brought in, Mr Vishwas said in a video statement quoted in Indian media.

He said he had verbal permission from an official to drain "some water into a nearby canal", adding that the official said it "would in fact benefit the farmers who would have more water".

The pump ran for several days, emptying out roughly two million litres (440,000 gallons) of water - reportedly enough to irrigate 6 sq km (600 hectares) of farmland.

His mission was stopped when another official, from the water resource department, arrived following a complaint.

"He has been suspended until an inquiry. Water is an essential resource and it cannot be wasted like this," Priyanka Shukla, a Kanker district official, told The National newspaper.

Mr Vishwas has denied misusing his position, and said that the water he drained was from the overflow section of the dam and "not in usable condition".

But his actions have drawn criticism from politicians, with the state's opposition BJP party's national vice-president tweeting: "When people are depending upon tankers for water facility in in scorching summers, the officer has drained 41 lakh litres which could have been used for irrigation purpose for 1,500 acres of land."

India official drains entire dam to retrieve phone

The man, who has now been suspended, was taking a selfie when he dropped his phone into the water.

www.bbc.com

 

[Drexluddin Khan Spiveyzai]

Entirely understandable. Nibba couldn't risk his wife taking a deep dive and recovering the contents of that phone

 

[Kuru]

He should be fired.

Entirely understandable. Nibba couldn't risk his wife taking a deep dive and recovering the content of that phone

Hahahah

 

[beijingwalker]

Beautiful democracy, what a sight.

 

[MH.Yang]

I can't believe there's such a ridiculous thing in this world.

Indians are refreshing my understanding of humanity every day.

 

[Drexluddin Khan Spiveyzai]

He should be fired.

He should be fired, fined, and put in jail, that mofo. Wasting such a precious commodity.

 

[FuturePAF]

Now the government will take his phone and find out what “sensitive government data” was on his phone. This guy played himself.

 

[Kuru]

Now the government will take his phone and find out what “sensitive government data” was on his phone. This guy played himself.

They won’t find any. The guy was lying to justify his weird actions.

 

[ProudThamizhan]

Now the government will take his phone and find out what “sensitive government data” was on his phone. This guy played himself.

the sad part is he is a lowly food officer.

he says he spent Rs 7500 (a bit under $100) to rent a diesel pump. Dunno how much he spent on diesel. The cost of water ofcourse just monetary terms is several hundred times that, not mention the environmental, replacement and opportunity costs.

Only solace - it was not a chinese phone!

 

[beijingwalker]

If summer drought hits, the water wasted could mean life and death for many people

 

[Raj-Hindustani]

India official drains entire dam to retrieve phone​

Mattea Bubalo - BBC News​

Fri, May 26, 2023 at 10:56 PM EDT

The Kherkatta reservoir in Chhattisgarh, India

A government official in India has been suspended after he ordered a reservoir to be drained to retrieve his phone.

It took three days to pump millions of litres of water out of the dam, after Rajesh Vishwas dropped the device while taking a selfie.

By the time it was found, the phone was too water-logged to work.

Mr Vishwas claimed it contained sensitive government data and needed retrieving, but he has been accused of misusing his position.

The food inspector dropped his Samsung phone, worth about $1,200 (100,000 rupees), into Kherkatta Dam, in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, on Sunday.

After local divers failed to find it, he paid for a diesel pump to be brought in, Mr Vishwas said in a video statement quoted in Indian media.

He said he had verbal permission from an official to drain "some water into a nearby canal", adding that the official said it "would in fact benefit the farmers who would have more water".

The pump ran for several days, emptying out roughly two million litres (440,000 gallons) of water - reportedly enough to irrigate 6 sq km (600 hectares) of farmland.

His mission was stopped when another official, from the water resource department, arrived following a complaint.

"He has been suspended until an inquiry. Water is an essential resource and it cannot be wasted like this," Priyanka Shukla, a Kanker district official, told The National newspaper.

Mr Vishwas has denied misusing his position, and said that the water he drained was from the overflow section of the dam and "not in usable condition".

But his actions have drawn criticism from politicians, with the state's opposition BJP party's national vice-president tweeting: "When people are depending upon tankers for water facility in in scorching summers, the officer has drained 41 lakh litres which could have been used for irrigation purpose for 1,500 acres of land."

India official drains entire dam to retrieve phone

The man, who has now been suspended, was taking a selfie when he dropped his phone into the water.

www.bbc.com

One of the idiot...

 

[beijingwalker]

Water crisis in India’s Maharashtra | India News | WION Climate Tracker​