India official empties dam to retrieve lost phone(bbc.com)
bbc.com
India official empties dam to retrieve lost phone
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-65726193
45 comments
This Indian official is NOT an exception. Most of Indian bureaucrats are just like him--they act like princes/kings. This is applicable from the low level clerks to the top level officials; the difference is who bear the brunt.
The people who pumped out the water need to thank the official that at least he made them do with a water pump. Because if he wanted he could have ordered them to drain the whole dam using buckets, and they would have to do it.
The sheer power the administration wields in a country like India is stuff of the legends. Dictators would envy at having a fraction of this sort of power. They are largely invisible, wield nearly unlimited power. With the stroke of a pen they can bring whole bridges into existence and have them vanish. There are industrialists who have committed suicide out of sheer torture subjected to them by the bureaucracy in India [1].
That is just the power and influence they wield. The money part is another thing that would blow the minds of anybody who isn't familiar with the Indian society. These days in as little as a decade, even the least ranking bureaucrat in the hierarchy can be worth up to $100 million. Their children are known to run think tanks and policy groups all set to shape policy decisions for decades to come.
At this much power and influence, you are pretty much like a king of princely state domain in India.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._G._Siddhartha
This letter detailed the unbearable pressure he was subjected to over the years and the harassment he faced under the "previous" Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) (referred to as DG in the letter).
The sheer power the administration wields in a country like India is stuff of the legends. Dictators would envy at having a fraction of this sort of power. They are largely invisible, wield nearly unlimited power. With the stroke of a pen they can bring whole bridges into existence and have them vanish. There are industrialists who have committed suicide out of sheer torture subjected to them by the bureaucracy in India [1].
That is just the power and influence they wield. The money part is another thing that would blow the minds of anybody who isn't familiar with the Indian society. These days in as little as a decade, even the least ranking bureaucrat in the hierarchy can be worth up to $100 million. Their children are known to run think tanks and policy groups all set to shape policy decisions for decades to come.
At this much power and influence, you are pretty much like a king of princely state domain in India.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._G._Siddhartha
This letter detailed the unbearable pressure he was subjected to over the years and the harassment he faced under the "previous" Director General of Income Tax (Investigation) (referred to as DG in the letter).
Not indian special. It's with the entire subcontinent
Agreed. If I've the means/chance of dominating you in any way--however small--you bet I will. I'll show you who the (momentary) boss is.
It says he's been suspended. Do you think that's not actually the case or very significant? I guess it's still strange he was able to empty it and only got in trouble after.
>>Do you think that's not actually the case or very significant?
Suspension doesn't mean getting fired from the job. I guess they serve a 'show cause' notice, which you need to defend in front of a committee(your own colleagues), you get handed a token transfer to some far village location. Then in a year or two you just work your way back.
So basically not much.
Suspension doesn't mean getting fired from the job. I guess they serve a 'show cause' notice, which you need to defend in front of a committee(your own colleagues), you get handed a token transfer to some far village location. Then in a year or two you just work your way back.
So basically not much.
Being suspended is a badge of honor. Sometimes, people get suspended for silly reasons (just to please some politician or official). When officials from Anti corruption bureau busts some officer, people say that because the latter officer is not sharing bribes properly with higher-ups, he was caught up by these anti-corruption guys.
It costs 80 crore rupees (or $10 million USD) to contest in local elections to order to become a member of legislative assembly, MLA, (a legislature body at the state level, who elects the chief minister). These contestants distribute money to voters to convince the latter to vote for them. The going rate is about 6000 rupees per voter (say, $75 USD). Voters collect money from both contestants.
Today's 80 crores = 160 Crores ($20M) 5 years later, as these MLAs serve five years. Consider this as a business. To break even, these MLAs to make $20M (or 160 Crores) in five years. How do these politicians make money? By collecting 10 percent commission for any public works contracts in their constituencies (say, building roads/buildings, digging tanks, patching roads, cleaning, even including transfers of public officials). So, one has to bring in $200M worth of public works contracts in his/her constituency. In India, every chief minister of a state (like the governor of a state in the states) is so big on dolls: sending money to people because the latter is 55 years old, or a woman, or unemployed, or poor, or belong to a certain castes. There is no money left in the public coffers, as the taxes they get don't cover these doles, freebies. So, there is no more money left to do any solid public works in their constituencies. In other words, these MLAs are not getting $200M worth of works in their constituencies. (I heard in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the average public works are at $15M for 5 years, so many MLAs are in deep loss). So, what do these politicians do: sand mafia, liquor mafia, drug mafia, mandatory bribes flowing from the bottom to top, bribes for transfers, bribes for reinstating suspensions, bribes for this and that. There is a deep collusion between politicians and bureaucracy, affecting the quality of life of average people in India.
This is the state of Indian politicians and bureaucracy. There is no shame being in suspended, just pay off the right politician to get reinstated.
It costs 80 crore rupees (or $10 million USD) to contest in local elections to order to become a member of legislative assembly, MLA, (a legislature body at the state level, who elects the chief minister). These contestants distribute money to voters to convince the latter to vote for them. The going rate is about 6000 rupees per voter (say, $75 USD). Voters collect money from both contestants.
Today's 80 crores = 160 Crores ($20M) 5 years later, as these MLAs serve five years. Consider this as a business. To break even, these MLAs to make $20M (or 160 Crores) in five years. How do these politicians make money? By collecting 10 percent commission for any public works contracts in their constituencies (say, building roads/buildings, digging tanks, patching roads, cleaning, even including transfers of public officials). So, one has to bring in $200M worth of public works contracts in his/her constituency. In India, every chief minister of a state (like the governor of a state in the states) is so big on dolls: sending money to people because the latter is 55 years old, or a woman, or unemployed, or poor, or belong to a certain castes. There is no money left in the public coffers, as the taxes they get don't cover these doles, freebies. So, there is no more money left to do any solid public works in their constituencies. In other words, these MLAs are not getting $200M worth of works in their constituencies. (I heard in the state of Andhra Pradesh, the average public works are at $15M for 5 years, so many MLAs are in deep loss). So, what do these politicians do: sand mafia, liquor mafia, drug mafia, mandatory bribes flowing from the bottom to top, bribes for transfers, bribes for reinstating suspensions, bribes for this and that. There is a deep collusion between politicians and bureaucracy, affecting the quality of life of average people in India.
This is the state of Indian politicians and bureaucracy. There is no shame being in suspended, just pay off the right politician to get reinstated.
The article says 2 million liters but then quotes a public official saying 41 lakh liters which means 4.1 million liters.
Maybe the editor of this piece doesn't know what a lakh is: one hundred thousand (of anything).
Maybe the editor of this piece doesn't know what a lakh is: one hundred thousand (of anything).
The 41 lakh are a politician's quote. Either he said that, is misquoted or it's a typo.
Other sources mention 21lakh [0] or only 41cusecs [1]
[0] https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/chhattisgarh-officer-dropped...
[1] https://www.dhakatribune.com/south-asia/2023/05/27/indian-of...
Other sources mention 21lakh [0] or only 41cusecs [1]
[0] https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/chhattisgarh-officer-dropped...
[1] https://www.dhakatribune.com/south-asia/2023/05/27/indian-of...
Someone should invent a device that is part of a phone that if it gets wet, it inflates so the phone floats.
Please tell me you’re joking. I don’t want my phone turning into a lifeboat because I dropped it in a puddle. It would also take out a ton of space to hold the inflatable bag and inflatable chemicals.
It could get worse. Imagine that it will start raining and it will suddenly expand in your hand like an airbag breaking your fingers in a process.
This guy built a phone parachute, it was pretty shitty but amusing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suCbhEHlpL8&ab_channel=Willi...
Didn’t lifeproof make these for devices before they got acquired?
This will almost certainly be activated most often after being dropped into a toilet.
I'm trying to picture how that would even happen. A male pissing and texting?
Just use a floating phone case
Floating phones reminded me of this phone ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9ZDiGAgbXM
(Relevant part is at around 2:30, but the whole video is quite funny)
1. What was on the phone that was so valuable?
2. Do they have enough water? No, but supposedly an "overflow section" of unpotable water.
3. Did they find the phone?
2. Do they have enough water? No, but supposedly an "overflow section" of unpotable water.
3. Did they find the phone?
Did you read the article?
“ By the time it was found, the phone was too water-logged to work”
“ By the time it was found, the phone was too water-logged to work”
At no point during the operation, did anyone consider that it was a pointless endeavour? JFC.
Perhaps blackmail vids//docs in case a bribing wealthy company goes too far in their demands.
The shithole of corruption is unending spiral of extortion.
The shithole of corruption is unending spiral of extortion.
If you're blackmailing someone and you have evidence, you are extremely stupid if you save it on your mobile device.
That being said, he's a government official, so that explains it.
That being said, he's a government official, so that explains it.
it's just a normal case of an average Indian government employee abusing their powers.
The article says that he was a "food inspector". What valuable data can a food inspector have that requires emptying a dam?
Well, that selfie for one.
Related: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_selfie-related_injurie...
India has the highest selfie related deaths compared to other countries.
India has the highest selfie related deaths compared to other countries.
proof of his corruption perhaps
[deleted]
I'm concerned that he had to install a diesel pump to drain the dam and had to dump the water into a random canal. Is there no spillway? How would they drain the dam during normal operation?
When I read such news, the only thing that comes to my mind is "What" ...
Clearly this guy was in the wrong department. Should have been a general.
i like how they have the surface area in hectares, kilometers and acres
As long as it's not measured in american football fields...
[deleted]
In other news, officials shut down the world to "flatten the curve".
The amount of energy wasted to do this has mitigated what thousands of households have tried to save to avert climate change. Sad. No wonder there is never any progress on climate change and greenhouse gas reductions.
Meant to say, the efforts households have made to mitigate climate change have been canceled out by the terrible waste of this government employee to find a phone.