Official had dam drained after his phone fell in water

A government official has been suspended after he ordered a reservoir to be drained to retrieve his dropped phone.

Millions of litres of water were pumped over three days from the Kherkatta dam in the state of Chhattisgarh after Rajesh Vishwas, a food inspector, said his phone held sensitive government data.

In a statement to local media, Vishwas said he had contacted a sub-divisional officer for permission to drain “some water” into a nearby canal. After enlisting divers and using two diesel pumps to partly drain the reservoir, the phone was found but was too waterlogged for use.

India is home to 18% of the world’s population and only 4% of its water resources, according to the World Bank.