Ola Boats deployed to support flood relief efforts in Varanasi & Allahabad
- Ola to help rescue people stranded in flooded areas and also distribute flood-relief material including food items, drinking water and medical kits using boats
- Also introduces special ‘Donate’ category on the app; encouraging citizens to donate ration, clothes, blankets, medicines etc. to be distributed amongst people who are affected by the floods
Varanasi | Allahabad, August 26, 2016: In an endeavour to help thousands of citizens affected by the floods and waterlogging in Varanasi and Allahabad, Ola, India’s most popular mobile app for transportation, today announced that it has deployed boats to help people in affected areas across the two cities in Uttar Pradesh. Manned by professional rowers, these boats will help rescue citizens from flooded zones to safer areas and in distribution of relief material like food items, drinking water and medicines.
Ola is also introducing a special category ‘Donate’ on its app in Varanasi and Allahabad. Fellow citizens who wish to donate food items, clothes, blankets, medicines etc. can open the Ola app and click on this icon. An Ola relief van will come to their doorstep to collect the material which will then be distributed using boats in the water-logged areas. The category will be live between 8am and 6pm everyday starting from 27 August for a period three days.
Piyush Surana, Business Head – East at Ola said, “Thousands of citizens have been stranded and are suffering due to heavy rains and water logging in Varanasi and Allahabad. We are leveraging the benefits of our technology platform to make it easier for people to donate essentials and aggregate them for distribution in the affected areas. Boats deployed by Ola will help rescue people stranded in flooded areas and distribute supplies in affected areas. We will continue to extend support with all available mobility options in the city to help citizens who need transportation most and we urge our users to support their fellow citizens in distress.”
Ola had undertaken similar flood relief initiatives in the past in Chennai and Guwahati. During the Chennai floods last year, Ola had deployed boats in water logged and partially submerged areas, basis information provided by the Fire and Rescue Department of Tamil Nadu. During the recent floods in Guwahati, Ola had created an on-demand ‘Flood Relief’ category on its app to help Ola users in Guwahati contribute non-perishable food items and clothes. Ola had also sent veterinary doctors from Guwahati to Kaziranga to help Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) in its rescue operations.
About Ola:
Founded in Jan 2011 by IIT Bombay alumni Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola (formerly Olacabs), is India’s most popular mobile app for personal transportation. Ola integrates city transportation for customers and driver partners onto a mobile technology platform ensuring convenient, transparent and quick service fulfillment. Ola is committed to its mission of building mobility for a billion people. Using the Ola mobile app, users across 102 cities can book from over 4,50,000 vehicles across cabs, auto-rickshaws and taxis. Ola has also introduced a range of shared mobility services on its platform like Ola Shuttle and Ola Share for commute and ride-sharing respectively. The app is available on Windows, Android and iOS platforms. Please visit www.olacabs.com and https://www.olacabs.com/media for more information.