Incident at Herkatta Dam: Official’s Phone Incident and Aftermath

A recent report notes that in India, an official named Rajesh Vishwas faced a startling incident when his phone slipped into water and prompted the evacuation of the Herkatta Dam in Chhattisgarh. The event unfolded after Vishwas dropped a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra while attempting a selfie, an act that quickly spiraled into a broader operational saga around dam safety and public information. Despite a thorough search aided by divers, the phone remained elusive, and financial arrangements were made to compensate Vishwas for three days of delivery and the use of a diesel pump to support the response efforts, illustrating how bureaucratic processes sometimes intersect with emergency procedures. (BBC) The official later asserted that the device contained confidential government data and claimed to have secured verbal authorization to release a small amount of water into the nearby canal, a measure he argued could be of practical use for local farmers. This claim, however, did not prevent the eventual dismissal of Vishwas from his government post, underscoring the tension between security, accountability, and the public interest in crisis management. (BBC)