Had written about some interesting incidents during 18 month Aizawl tenure https://twitter.com/naukarshah/status/855409128520376320 Here's another.

Data & Government 1/n

Well.. you might be aware of our really cool Aizawl Disaster Management initiative. If not this thread https://twitter.com/naukarshah/status/746327517011685376 2/n

Don't run away. This is not about the usefulness of app. It is about how the app itself became a disaster in someone's budding romance. 3/n

So, one day, a junior colleague says that she is coming to meet me in the office & that she will bring a friend along. I said anytime. 4/n

It was those development days of the app & I used to torture anyone & everyone who came to my office by demonstrating the whole app. 5/n

It never mattered why they had come to office. If you entered the chamber, that's it. You will get the full demo no matter what. 6/n

I remember one guy coming to collect some file. After sitting through the whole demo, he said thank you & literally ran away. Feel bad now

Ok. Ok. Coming back to the romantic part of the story.

Yep. 8/n

So, this friend & her friend (boy) came to the office and before even asking them how are you, I started my drill. The demo. 9/n

That this is the app, such & such. That this is how the relative you have marked as emergency contact will be informed if you are in trouble

As I go on & on, either to stop my ramblings or to impress the friend, the boy intercepts & says sir, I have this app on my phone. 11/n

If his intention was first it was a wrong move on his part. If it was second it was a horribly wrong move. I was like wow! you have the app!

Nobody was downloading the app those days you see.

Excited, but looking whateva.. I said let's search your name in our database. 13/n

Bingo. Yep. His name is there. To show it to them I put the display to that huge TV screen I have in the room. It is a big LED screen. 14/n

Explaining the concept I tell him, if you press the rescue me button, immediately both us & your emergency contact will get the message

Then I go to emergency contact part of the database.

Whaaat!!!

Our 'boy' had put some other 'girl' as his emergency contact. 16/n

Yep. There I was, showing to his current interest, the name & number of girl who he has put as emergency contact. On a really big screen!!!

Unaware of the disaster in front of my eyes, I go on to explain, see, she (reading out her name) will get the message immediately. 18/n

But I was stopped in between by my friend with that one question every guy dreads to hear from a girl!

"Who the hell is she!!!"

????

She asked him in a polite but stern way perfectly suiting the office environment they were in.

That's when I realised Ohho... this is bad!

Our boy looked at me like he is going to attack me. But then I remembered offence is the best defence.

I too asked him..

Yeah. Who is she?

Next five minutes was an absolute masterclass in how to duck and dive and roll and swerve as he attempted an explanation 22/n

All these while he was trying to update the emergency contact to his father's number and asking me to refresh the screen fast. 23/n

So guys, download the app at
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dcaizawl.aizawldisastermanagement and be careful who you are keeping as your emergency contact. 24/n

And never ever blindly trust Government with your data. We can wreck your lives in more ways than you can imagine.

#DataAndGovernment