In a bizarre incident, a Chhattisgarh government official had water pumped stored in a dam for irrigating agricultural fields pumped out over three days to recover his mobile phone that fell into the water while he was taking a selfie.
As much as 41,104 cubic metres of water, which would have been used for irrigating crops in 1,500 acres of farmland, was pumped out and ended up being wasted before the officer found his mobile phone. According to an Indian Express report.
The phone was damaged beyond repair after being submerged in the water for three days and was of no use, making it an exercise of utter futility.
Rajesh Vishwas, food inspector of Koyalibeda block in Chhattisgarh was suspended by the District Collector on Friday for misusing his position and not taking permission from the concerned official.
Vishwas claimed, “A verbal permission was given by the Kanker irrigation department SDO to empty 3-4 feet of water. It was part of the dam where waste water was kept which was unfit for irrigation. The water was emptied with a diesel pump and the action cost of Rs 7,000-8,000. No farmer was affected by my action,” Vishwas added.
The pumps reportedly started draining water on Monday evening and continued to run till Thursday. An official from the irrigation and water resource department reached the spot after a complaint and stopped the pumping.
