Using wit and jest, UT adviser tweets clarification about odd-even proposal in Chandigarh

On Saturday night, Chandigarh residents were pleasantly surprised by UT adviser’s dry humour, as he sought to answer their queries. Manoj Parida, took to Twitter, to bring clarity on decisions taken by UT administrator VP Singh Badnore regarding the lifting of restrictions in the city from Monday onward.

Most questions revolved around the unfamiliar concept of odd-even for shops and vehicles. Using witty one liners while acknowledging the confusion, Parida responded to more than 700 questions from his Twitter handle.

As per the odd-even formula, shops and vehicles with odd numbers will be allowed to run on dates that end with an odd number, and similarly, those with even numbers can run on even dates.

Pointing out the formula’s impracticality, Twitter user Akshit asked Parida that if his shop number is odd and his vehicle number is even, how would he go to his shop? Parida suggested he open his shop every second day, assuming the shop was that of an essential service.

When Parida encouraged carpooling, Mitrabh Gupta said he lived in Zirakpur and has a milk business in Chandigarh, which makes it impossible to carpool. To this, Parida said, “Bad luck, wait till we change our orders.”

When another Twitter user asked him about the odd-even rule, Parida, in jest, said the person could consider exchanging his car with the owner of a neighboring shop till rules were in effect. He also encouraged people to cycle to their shops rather than use vehicles, something which the World Health Organisation (WHO) has also recommended.

When user Anmol Bhardwaj pointed out that shops in Chandigarh villages including those of Palsora village do not have shop numbers, Parida suggested he should “enjoy the confusion”.

Finally, Parida assured everyone that the move was only temporary and all stakeholders including the adviser and the administrator will reconsider the decision before implementing it.

Chandigarh Residents Association Welfare Federation (CRAWFED) had also written to Badnore, highlighting the confusion the odd-even rule would bring, suggesting that the odd-even rule be applied to shop numbers only, and not vehicles.

Later, during the war-room briefings with UT administrator VP Singh Badnore, on Sunday, the administration decided to forgo the odd-even proposal, citing the confusion that was likely to creates more issues.