A government employee in Chhattisgarh, India, accidentally dropped his mobile phone into a dam in Kanker district. In an attempt to retrieve the phone, he sought permission from an official to drain a few feet of water from the dam.
Consequently, the Irrigation Department deployed a pump that resulted in the discharge of around 21 lakh (2.1 million) liters of water from the reservoir.
Once the incident came to light, the Kanker Collector initiated an investigation and issued a show-cause notice to the sub-divisional officer (SDO) of the water resources department, RC Dhivar. The notice stated that the SDO allegedly granted verbal permission to drain the water without seeking approval from senior officials, which is considered misconduct.
As a result of the investigation, the Office of Superintendent Engineer has ordered that the cost for the wasted water be recovered from the salary of SDO RK Dhivar. The incident has raised concerns about the unauthorized release of water and the need for proper procedures and permissions to be followed in such cases.
