Unverified Dam-Release Voice Note
At 2:30 pm on a heavy-rain day, a Marathi voice note circulates in the station area: it says water will be released from a dam at 4 pm and that villages along the river should evacuate immediately. The message has no date, no dam name, and no official logo. The station has 6 constables, one jeep, and no written intimation from the irrigation department. One constable wants to forward the voice note to 12 WhatsApp groups 'just to be safe'. Another says wait for orders. The sub-divisional officer's office is reachable by phone. Downstream villages are 12 km away; the river is already at 70% of its warning level. You must decide what to do in the next 20 minutes.
1. State what immediate action is justified before confirmation and what is not. Explain the principle.
Read the worked answer
Justified: telephone the dam control room and the sub-divisional officer's office, alert beat officers along the river, check the warning level, and prepare a public-address vehicle and a short announcement. Not justified: forwarding the voice note as fact or ordering evacuation solely on its authority. The principle is verify before amplifying, while allowing low-cost, reversible protective steps. Alerting officers and checking the gauge do not create panic and can be undone; a mass forward or an evacuation order cannot be easily recalled. The river at 70% of warning level raises the stakes but does not remove the need to confirm the release.
2. Draft a public message of about 35 words that neither confirms nor dismisses the rumour, and tells people what to do.
Read the worked answer
We have received an unverified message about a dam release. Do not forward it. Keep away from the riverbank and listen for announcements from the police or irrigation department. Helpline: 112. (34 words) The wording neither endorses nor denies the claim; it reduces harm by moving people away from the hazard while directing them to an authoritative channel.
3. Name the two authorities you would contact and the one fact you would ask each.
Read the worked answer
Contact the irrigation department's dam control room and ask: is a release scheduled, and at what time and quantity? Contact the sub-divisional officer or tehsildar and ask: has an evacuation order been issued, and for which villages? These two facts separate the rumour from an actual operational decision. The dam office has the release data; the revenue authority has the evacuation mandate. Until both answer, the station should prepare but not announce a release as confirmed.