2 million liters of water drained from reservoir in search of phone dropped by Indian official while taking selfie | World News

An Indian government official has been suspended after ordering a reservoir to be drained so his mobile phone could be found.

Food inspector Rajesh Vishwas dropped his Samsung smartphone into the Kherkatta Dam while taking a selfie, The Times of India reported.

Over the course of three days, more than two million liters of water were pumped from the reservoir for him to collect.

The phone that got into the water was recovered, but it couldn’t be turned on.

Mr Vishwas first asked divers to search the phone, claiming it contained sensitive government data.

When they couldn’t find it, he called for a diesel pump to empty the reservoir.

According to local media reports, the water flowing from the dam is enough to irrigate at least 1,500 acres of land.

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Mr Vishwas told reporters the water could not be used for irrigation and that he had obtained permission from a senior official to empty the reservoir.

Authorities suspended Mr Vishwas after he was widely criticized for wasting water.

India is one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, with extreme temperatures causing severe water shortages, causing crop losses, forest fires and power outages.

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