In Search Of Lost Mobile, Man Empties 21 Lakh Litres Of Water From Dam

In a strange incident, a government official took the daunting task of pumping out water from a dam to get his mobile dropped into the deep waters. The incident was reported in Chhattisgarh.

Rs 1 lakh worth cellphone accidentally fell into the Kherkatta Dam when a government official named Rajesh Vishwas, a food officer in the Koilibeda block of Kanker district, was having a great time with his family, according to a report in NDTV.

The locals jumped into the water to find the smartphone, but could not locate it. Then, the officer brought two 30hp diesel pumps to drain out the water and ran it non-stop for three days.

The report claims that they emptied 21 lakh litres of water which could irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland, to find his mobile phone that had fallen into an overflow area with 15 feet deep water. However, the process was halted after an official from the irrigation and water resource department rushed to the spot following a complaint.

By then, six feet deep water has been drained out.

Rajesh Vishwas claimed that the phone dropped into the water when taking a selfie and he wanted the mobile at any cost as it contained government information. Although he got his phone back, it is not working.

"I went to the dam on Sunday with a few friends to take a bath there on my off day. My phone slipped into the overflow tankers, whose water is not usable. It was 10 feet deep. Locals tried to find it but failed. They told me they can surely find it if the water was two-three feet shallower.

I called the SDO and requested him to allow me to drain some water into the nearby canal if there was no problem in doing so. He said it was not an issue if three-four feet deep water was drained, and would in fact benefit the farmers who would have more water. That's why I got help from locals to drain around three feet of water and got my phone back," the website quoted Vishwas as saying.

The official from the irrigation and water resource department admitted that Vishwas was given permission but only to drain water up to five feet.

Responding to the incident, state Cabinet Minister Amarajeet Bhagat said that he was not aware of the incident and would take appropriate action based on the facts.