Nature is currently at its worst fury, as heavy rain is continuously pounding in Chennai and surrounding areas. The region is right now amidst worst floods ever recorded, as more than 250 people have died while affecting 1.8 million people. It is being estimated that more than Rs 20,000 crore worth of properties, livestock and crops have been damaged in these rains and floods.
We can imagine the level of catastrophe as The Hindu was not published for the first time in the last 137 years of their existence, Army, Navy and Air force has been put on full force to evict flood victims and daily life has been completely crippled from last several weeks.
During these times of distress, it is indeed heartening to see various brands and local businesses coming together, and pitching in with their help and assistance for the flood victims.
Here we present a summary of such unconditional help being offered in the last few days:
– Paytm offered free recharge of any phone in Chennai, as they Tweeted: “Stay Safe Chennai! Call on 18001030033, recharge your friend’s phone for free http://p-y.tm/4Egc #ChennaiFloods” This was also shared on their Facebook page. At the time of writing, this Tweet had received 1243 re-tweets and 358 likes.
Stay Safe Chennai! Call on 18001030033, recharge your friend’s phone for free https://t.co/JKiolmpBHw #ChennaiFloods pic.twitter.com/nHNnvB2FLU
— Paytm (@Paytm) December 2, 2015
– Considering that communication is the key for providing help instantly and to know the whereabouts of near and dear ones, Airtel was quick to launch several special offers for distressed victims. They Tweeted these offers: Auto approval of Talk Time credit of Rs 30 for all Airtel prepaid customers; Free 10 minutes of Airtel to Airtel calls for all pre-paid customers; Free 50 MB of data for all pre-paid customers; All postpaid customers received extended time for paying their bills
In the wake of #ChennaiFloods, #Airtel supports the people of Chennai. @Raheelk pic.twitter.com/4cVzTxgItR
— Bharti Airtel (@airtelnews) December 2, 2015
– Vodafone, India’s 2nd largest telecom operator also offered help to victims to stay in touch with loved ones. They offered pre-approved ‘chhota credit’ of Rs.10 to all pre-paid customers and a credit of 10 minutes for Vodafone to Vodafone calling. In addition, Vodafone also offered free 100MB mobile data to all customers with data enabled handsets.
– Ola, which had provided free boats last month in Chennai for helping the victims of the flood, once again reached out and provided instant help for those who were stuck in between. They Tweeted: “#Chennai If you’re stuck in rain and need assistance please contact us at 04428294121. We’ll do our best to get you home safe. RT #StaySafe” Clarifying, they said, “Please note the no. shared is that of the fire control dept. we’re working closely with them and pooling in all our resources to help out.”
#Chennai If you’re stuck in rain and need assistance please contact us at 04428294121. We’ll do our best to get you home safe. RT #StaySafe
— OLA (@Olacabs) December 1, 2015
– Considering that airport was flooded, and all flights were cancelled, Indigo President Aditya Ghosh Tweeted: “@IndiGo6E will waive cancellation charges and change fees for customers affected by cancellations due to Chennai floods”
@IndiGo6E will waive cancellation charges and change fees for customers affected by cancellations due to Chennai floods
— Aditya Ghosh (@AdityaGhosh6E) December 1, 2015
– On the other hand, Zomato came up with a novel plan to provide free meals incase one decides to buy a meal from Zomato. Deepinder Goyal, CEO of Zomato Tweeted: “Help get food to those affected by #ChennaiRains. We buy a meal for each one you buy here: http://zoma.to/chennairelief “
Help get food to those affected by #ChennaiRains. We buy a meal for each one you buy here: https://t.co/YdkHUShX4w pic.twitter.com/956WZg6GuJ
— Deepinder Goyal (@deepigoyal) December 2, 2015
– Besides these, various local businesses in and around Chennai started offering their assistance. For instance, SPI Cinemas and AGS Cinema opened their doors for all flood victims.
– Forum Vijaya Mall and Phoenix Marketcity also offered their premises for flood victims.
– Various colleges, institutions and local eateries in Chennai also pitched in with whatever help they can provide.
You can see the entire list here.
Special mention of users of various social networks, especially Twitter, as information was passed on quickly, and help and relief was sent out instantly as and when required.
Such help goes a long way in such times of emergency and distress. Hats off to these brands and local businesses for reaching out to flood victims.
