Government official pumps out 21 lakh litre water to recover expensive phone
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Kanker: A government official in Chhattisgarh has been accused of draining 21 lakh litres of water from a reservoir to recover his expensive that had fallen in while he tried to take a selfie.
Rajesh Vishwas is a food officer in the Koilibeda block of the Kanker district. He was on holiday at Kherkatta Dam when he accidentally dropped the phone worth Rs 1 lakh into the overflow area. The spot had 15 feet deep water and locals tried to recover the phone by diving in but failed.
The official then got two 30hp diesel pumps and ran them for three days continuously. 21 lakh litres of water is enough to irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland. The area has 10 feet of deep water in the summer and animals use it as a water source.
He only stopped when an official from the irrigation and water resource department reached the spot over a complaint. By then, the water was till six feet deep.
State Cabinet Minister Amarajeet Bhagat said he will take note of the incident and take appropriate actions.
Vishwas claimed that he had permission from the local Sub Divisional Officer to drain the water and the water was "unusable" and it is not used for anything. He added the phone had official department data. The water resources department official said he gave verbal permission to drain water up to five feet but a lot more was taken out.
"I went to the dam on Sunday with a few friends to take a bath there on my off day. My phone slipped into the overflow tankers, whose water is not usable. It was 10 feet deep. Locals tried to find it but failed. They told me they can surely find it if the water was two-three feet shallower. I called the SDO and requested him to allow me to drain some water into the nearby canal if there was no problem in doing so. He said it was not an issue if three-four feet deep water was drained, and would in fact benefit the farmers who would have more water. That's why I got help from locals to drain around three feet of water and got my phone back," said Vishwas.
The phone was not working when it was recovered.
Former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister and BJP leader Raman Singh said people are dependent on water tankers in the extreme heat and an official drains out 21 lakh litres of water. He also said the Congress government is responsible for officers treating the region as their ancestral property.