Officer summoned in Chhattisgarh for draining 21 Lakh litres of water to recover lost phone, salary deduction proposed

The Chhattisgarh government has summoned a food inspector days after he was suspended for verbally ordering him to release 21 million liters of water from a water tank to retrieve his expensive mobile phone.

The chief engineer of the Indravati project reportedly wrote to sub-divisional officer RK Dhivar on May 26 to ask why the cost of water wastage should not be deducted from the salary he receives from the government.

The letter emphasized that during the summer, water in all reservoirs is essential for irrigation and other uses. Rajesh Vishwas, a food officer in Koilibeda block of Kanker district, reportedly lost his smartphone worth  Rs. 1 lakh while taking selfies with friends on vacation at Paralkot Dam of Kherkatta Dam. Local residents rushed to search for him after he fell into the tailings weir's stilling tank, which contained water 15 feet deep.

After the first attempt failed, the police officer used two powerful 30-horsepower diesel pumps continuously for three days to pump out 21 million liters of water — enough to irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland — in an attempt to get his phone back, according to reports.

Despite the summer heat, the report notes that water is over 10 feet deep in the region and that "animals often drink from it." Farmers in the area also use water through the canal. Vishwas said he was trying to restore his phone as it contained official departmental data and the water was reportedly unusable.

“On Sunday, I went to the dam with some friends to swim there on my day off. My phone slipped into the overflow cisterns, the water of which is unusable. It was 10 feet deep. Locals tried to find him, but to no avail. They told me they would definitely find it if the water was ten feet shallower. I called the SDO and asked him to allow me to release some water in a nearby canal if there was no problem with it. He said it was not a problem if the water was released three to four feet deep and in fact it would benefit the farmers who would have more water. That's why the locals helped me drain about three meters of water and I got my phone back,” he said.

Later, a representative of the Ministry of Water Resources told local media that he had approved the release of water up to five feet, but more than that had actually been drained.