In India, a public official was suspended after draining 2.1 million liters of water to find a mobile phone that had been dropped in a reservoir.
According to foreign media such as the BBC and local media NDTV on the 26th (local time), Rajesh Vishwawas, a food official in the Kanker region of Chhattisgarh in central India, went to a nearby reservoir on the 21st and took a selfie and dipped his cell phone into the water. left out
The product he dropped was a Samsung Electronics product worth 100,000 rupees (about 1.6 million won). Embarrassed, Vishwas immediately called a local diver to retrieve the phone, but to no avail. Vishwas decided to use two 30 horsepower diesel pumps to pump water out of the reservoir.
The draining work continued for three days and nights from the afternoon of the 22nd to the 25th. In the process, about 2.1 million liters of water were drained and the water level in the reservoir was lowered to 1.8m.
According to NDTV, this is an amount that can be used as irrigation water for about 6 square kilometers of farmland.
Eventually, Vishwas found his cell phone after twists and turns, but it did not work.
The draining of Vishwas only stopped after another official from the Department of Irrigation and Water Resources arrived on the scene and gave orders to stop.
As the controversy over the abuse of power by civil servants grew, the opposition parties in local governments strongly criticized it. The Indian National Party (BJP) criticized, “In a situation where residents depend on water supply facilities amid the summer heat, officials have withdrawn water that can be used for irrigation.”
However, Vishhwas refuted, saying, “The cell phone contained sensitive government information and had to be collected.”
“The water that was drained was also unusable,” he explained.
Authorities launched an investigation, including removing Vishwas from his duties.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.