Indian official drains thousands of litres of water from dam to find lost phone

[Bretrick]

An Indian government official has been suspended after ordering an entire reservoir to be drained to recover a mobile phone he had dropped.
Mr Vishwas was taking a selfie when his smartphone fell into the water.
He called local divers to try to retrieve it.
When they failed, he arranged for two powerful pumps to be run for three days to empty out 2 million litres of water, enough to irrigate 600 hectares of farmland.
He only stopped when an official from the irrigation and water resource department visited the site after a complaint.
One would think he will lose his position after this debacle

[butterscotch]

Sounds insane. What was he thinking?!

In a country where water is a scarce commodity, that’s crazy. He’s still defending his actions.

The official, Rajesh Vishwas, 32, was picnicking with friends in central India on May 21 when he dropped his Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra into the Paralkot reservoir in Chhattisgarh State, where he lives. The $1,200 device is a new model, and Mr. Vishwas, a government food inspector, apparently decided that he had to have it back and claimed that it had official departmental data, according to NDTV, the Indian television station.

Initially, some villagers he knew spent two days diving in the reservoir in an attempt to retrieve the phone, Mr. Vishwas told The Indian Express newspaper. No luck. So he rented a diesel pump and drained about three feet of water over another two days — by some estimates, enough to irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland.

Mr. Vishwas later said he had received “oral permission” from R.C. Dhivar, an official at the local Water Resources Department, to drain three or four feet of water. Mr. Dhivar said that doing so “would in fact benefit the farmers,” Mr. Vishwas told NDTV.

Indian Official Who Drained a Reservoir to Retrieve His Phone Is Suspended

[Bretrick]

The guy has a misplaced sense of entitlement. What phone is going to work after being underwater for two days?

[butterscotch]

. . . and no common sense.

Maybe he has something super incriminating on it. Otherwise it makes no sense at all.

[Bretrick]

@butterscotch

. . . and no common sense.

Maybe he has something super incriminating on it. Otherwise it makes no sense at all.

He said the phone had official data stored on it.

[butterscotch]

What good would official data do without the phone working? There must be another source for that data. That data couldn’t be important enough to merit such a crazy action. I can’t imagine anyone risking that much trouble for government data for their job.

Sounds like a cover to me.

[Bretrick]

Sure does. He is petrified someone will get hold of it and the contents will see him imprisoned.
I will keep updating this post.

[Psmith]

It is reassuring,in a way,that all countries seem to have the same sort of people in charge.

[butterscotch]

@Psmith

It is reassuring,in a way,that all countries seem to have the same sort of people in charge.

Bwuh?

In the same way it’s comforting to know that when a bear eats you, you’re not the only one that has been eaten by a bear?

[summer]

Full of his own self importance …maybe ?

[Bretrick]

Most definitely. I hope he is severely dealt with.

[Primus1]

Apparently the phone didn’t work after he’d retrieved it…

[Maree]

Definitely something on it he didn’t want seen, I’d say

[LongDriver]

@Bretrick

One would think he will lose his position after this debacle

Better still … leave him at the bottom before refilling, but with concrete boots on to keep him there🤬

[LongDriver]

@Maree

Definitely something on it he didn’t want seen, I’d say

Bestiality?? They do regard cattle as sacred, so he wouldn’t wish to be caught😉

[Maree]

@LongDriver

@Maree

Definitely something on it he didn’t want seen, I’d say

Bestiality?? They do regard cattle as sacred, so he wouldn’t wish to be caught😉

Could be, but my money is is on a few lucrative fiddles

[LongDriver]

@Maree

lucrative fiddles

So are you implying he was a busker? LOL!!

[Bretrick]

@LongDriver

Better still … leave him at the bottom before refilling, but with concrete boots on to keep him there🤬

Certainly what is required by this ne’er do well.

[Chilliboot]

He should have taken the back off it and left it in the airing cupboard for a week or so buried in a bowl of rice… uncooked I hasten to add!

[Conradd]

Interestingly, I read that China now controls the head waters of major rivers in South East Asia. Doctor Liam Fox has just launched a book on this and how wars may be fought over water.