An Indian agricultural inspector forced authorities to drain a huge reservoir of water for agriculture, but found his mobile phone had fallen into the artificial lake while taking a selfie from the top of the dam.
According to various Indian media, Rajesh Vishwas was visiting the Kherkatta-Paralkot reservoir in the state of Chhattisgarh on a day off last Sunday when he dropped his mobile phone, a Samsung S23, into the water reservoir, which is about five meters deep.
Along with his local authorities, Mr Vishwas spoke to the Irrigation Board and, he says, obtained permission to drain the lake.
In #ChhattisgarhAn officer’s iPhone fell into a reservoir. Two 30hp pumps ran for 24 hours and pumped – hold your breath – 21 lakh litres #Waterthat water could have irrigated 1,500 hectares of land, and at this time “the area is in serious water shortage!” pic.twitter.com/vBSol7EafS
–Ramandeep Singh Mann (@ramanmann1974) May 26, 2023
For three days, a pump worked tirelessly, sucking out more than 41 million liters of water that could have been used to irrigate 600 hectares of farmland, India Today reported.
The valuable phone was found, but unsurprisingly, after several days underwater, the device stopped working.
Authorities are now considering ways to compensate the population, especially given the approaching summer, which is typically very hot and dry in the region.