[Warwithwheels]

The recent flooding in Chennai and other parts of TN has caused considerable damage to both people and property. The social media has gone viral with so many memes about the flooding.

And one such meme was about OLA cabs launching OLA boats for the chennai flood victims. We all thought it was a joke.

But read this and you'll know what OLA has actually done:

Taxi operator Ola has deployed boats along with professional rowers to rescue people in the waterlogged areas to safer places.

"Ola deployed boats in waterlogged and partially submerged areas on the basis of information from the Fire and Rescue department", Ola said in a statement.

[patron]

That is one great social initiative. I wonder how they got hold of boats.

[Prodigy07]

Wow! Wonderful initiative. Even I thought it was a joke, when photos were being shared across on Whatsapp!

[sumathindra]

Corporate social responsibility. I guess it is time that the many big corp houses come and do their bit to the people affected in this hour of need. Essentials like food and water to begin with.

[ashwin.terminat]

This is brilliant stuff!

I thought it was a joke as well.

Good on you, Ola!

Now, if only you can launch an airplane service in Bangalore, we would appreciate it.

[sunishsamuel]

CSR apart, this is a good ad opportunity as well, isn't it ? I appreciate the initiative, especially when they are offering free service to rescue and let people move around. Kudos to Ola .

[arun_josie]

Superb initiative by OLA Even I thought this a joke till I came across this thread.

Originally Posted by Warwithwheels

And one such meme was about OLA cabs launching OLA boats for the chennai flood victims. We all thought it was a joke.

Here is one of the meme that I received,

[Warwithwheels]

On a related note, another great initiative by OYO

[dass]

I was also one of those guys who thought this was a joke. commendable from OLA for doing something different and showing a way for a lot of companies. As part of their CSR initiative, companies should adopt the roads and parks near their locations and maintain them. Way to go OLA and Thank you!!

[vinair]

Creating a dedicated thread on the flood situation in Chennai and how people are coping with the calamity.

Looks like Ola has introduced boat services in Chennai, looks like a good gesture from the company as the need of the hour.

Further read - http://english.manoramaonline.com/ne...terlogged.html

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by patron

That is one great social initiative. I wonder how they got hold of boats.

Looking at the boats, it looks like the fiberglass boats given to the fishermen. Since they would not have ventured into the sea, they could have rented them. Win-win for both. But I am still not sure if this actually happened!!

[rajesh1868]

The first picture in the original post was actually a joke someone posted on social media.
OLA responded positively to it
I believe they procured the boats from a sports/rowing club

[carmania]

“According to an Ola spokesperson, it all started with a joke when someone tweeted a picture of Ola’s car-hailing app, modified to make it look like it included boat service: Ola, however, took the joke seriously ….”

http://www.tehelka.com/2015/11/now-c...ce-in-chennai/

[n.arun01]

But isn't it Ola's or for that matter Uber's primary responsibility to make sure their cabs are running. For 3 days running one could not find Ola cabs. It was as if they shut shop. Even ola auto was not available

[Rajeevraj]

A good initiative by Ola. But more than that a brilliant publicity and marketing exercise.

Kudos to the folks at ola who saw initially saw the joke and realized the marketing potential in it. An sure the people ola helped will remember them next time they have a need for a taxi.