Chhattisgarh: Officer drains 21-lakh-liter water to recover phone from dam
A government official from Chhattisgarh has been suspended for allegedly pumping out 21 lakh liter of water from a reservoir to recover his lost phone. According to NDTV, Rajesh Vishwas, a food officer in the Koilibeda block of the Kanker district, visited the Kherkatta Dam on Sunday. While taking a selfie, he accidentally dropped his phone worth Rs. 96,000 into 15-feet-deep water.
Vishwas requested SDO to give permission to drain water
Reportedly, as soon as Vishwas's phone fell into the reservoir, locals dived and tried to find it. However, after many failed attempts, he allegedly called the Sub Divisional Officer (SDO) and requested permission to drain some water. Vishwas claimed that the official permitted him to drain three to four feet of water and said it would, in fact, benefit the farmers.
Water was drained for 3 days
Following the approval, Vishwas started draining the water on Monday evening until Thursday. The 21 lakh liter water could have irrigated around 1,500 acres of farmland, per reports. The pumps were only stopped after an Irrigation and Water Resource Department official reached the spot after a complaint. However, the dam, which has 10-feet-deep water even in summer, was already down to six feet.
BJP slams Congress government over the incident
NDTV reported that when the phone was ultimately found, it wasn't working. Meanwhile, former Chhattisgarh CM and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Raman Singh hit out at the Congress's Bhupesh Baghel-led government, saying officials were treating the region as their ancestral property under the "dictatorial" state government. People are dependent on water tankers in summer, and an official drains out the water, he added.
