We all would do anything in order to get our phone back when we drop it into tight or enclosed spaces, but would it involves completely draining a reservoir too?
This was exactly what a government official did in India after he accidentally dropped his phone into a reservoir and ordered every drop of water drained to find it.
Dropped phone into reservoir
According to the Indian Express, the official named Rajesh Vishwas was out on a picnic with friends on May 21 when he accidentally dropped his phone into the 10-feet deep reservoir while taking a selfie.
The phone was reportedly a Samsung S23 ultra, which cost Vishwas around 95,000 rupees (RM5,287.25) and was purchased just two months ago.
Upset over his loss, the food inspector roped in some villagers to dive into the reservoir to retrieve his phone, but they failed in doing so after two days.
Vishwas told the Indian Express that he then contacted the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of Water Resources Department, whom he claimed gave him verbal permission to drain the reservoir.
To do so, he rented a diesel pump and spent the next two days draining the water being held inside the reservoir.
BBC News reported that the amount of water drained was close to two million litres of water, which was reportedly sufficient to irrigate 6 sq km (600 hectares) of farmland.
Alas, all of Vishwas’ efforts were in vain as his phone was found too waterlogged to be used again.
Suspended for draining reservoir
Following Vishwas’ outrageous deed, he was later suspended from his job after he was stopped by an official from the irrigation and water resource department, reported The National.
A Kanker district official, Priyanka Shukla, said his actions were unacceptable and that he had no authority to do what he did.
He has been suspended until an inquiry. Water is an essential resource and it cannot be wasted like this. I have taken strict action.
As for the official who allegedly gave Vishwas permission, he is also facing investigations for his involvement in the incident.
What do you think of this incident? Let us know in the comments!
READ ALSO:
