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Chhattisgarh: Rs 53,000 Fine for Official Who Drained Out 41 Lakh Litres of Water from Reservoir to Retrieve Mobile Phone

Curated By: Kavya Mishra

News18.com

Last Updated: May 30, 2023, 18:59 IST

Raipur, India

The water drained out of the reservoir could have been used to irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland. (Twitter/@ramanmann1974)

The water drained out of the reservoir could have been used to irrigate 1,500 acres of farmland. (Twitter/@ramanmann1974)

The action is related to an incident that took place just days before when a Chhattisgarh food inspector was suspended for emptying water up to five feet from a reservoir to recover his expensive phone

The Chhattisgarh government fined a senior official Rs 53,000 for permitting to drain out 21 lakh litres of water to recover his colleague’s phone from a reservoir.

The action is related to an incident that took place just days before when a Chhattisgarh food inspector was suspended for emptying water up to five feet from a reservoir to recover his expensive phone, which he dropped inside while taking a selfie.

According to media reports, the government now pulled up his senior, who the suspended food inspector said gave him verbal permission to drain the water.

The Superintendent Engineer of the Indravati project wrote to the Sub Divisional Officer RK Dhivar on May 26, asking why the cost of wasted water should not be recovered from his salary. The letter pointed out that water is required in all reservoirs for irrigation and other purposes during summer, NDTV reported.

Rajesh Vishwas, a food officer in the Koilibeda block of the Kanker district, was spending his holiday at Kherkatta Dam when his phone reportedly fell into the dam. His device cost around Rs 1 lakh.

Vishwas panicked as he lost his phone and reached out to the Irrigation Department to retrieve the device. Eventually, a 30-horsepower pump was deployed to drain out and waste almost 21 lakh litres of water, which could otherwise be used to irrigate over 1,500 acres of farmland.

The phone was recovered after three days, after the discharge of 41,104 cubic metres of water, media reports said.

first published:May 30, 2023, 17:03 IST
last updated:May 30, 2023, 18:59 IST