Zoom Image
The Kherkatta Reservoir in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh
Photo: @ramanmann1974 / twitter
For three days, Indian government official Rajesh Vishwas had around two million litres of water pumped out of a reservoir to recover his mobile phone from the depths of the water.
The 32-year-old man had dropped the approximately 100,000 rupees (1200 dollars) Samsung S-23 device, according to "India Today" during a selfie in the water of the Kherkatta reservoir in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh.
After local divers failed to find it, Vishwas said to have contacted the irrigation authority. There he received permission to pump the water out of the reservoir. An official assured him that the pumped-out water would "benefit the farmers, who would then have more water," Vishwas said.
It was only after three days that the ludicrous mobile phone rescue operation was stopped – and Rajesh Vishwas suspended. "Water is a vital resource and must not be wasted in this way," Priyanka Shukla, a Kanker district official, told The National.
Vishwas has publicly denied abusing his office, saying the water he drained came from the dam's overflow area and was "unusable." He had to get his phone back at all costs because it allegedly stored "important contacts" and sensitive government data, Vishwas justified, according to the BBC.
Rajesh Vishwas could have saved himself the effort and trouble: After three days in the water, his cell phone no longer works.
kik