Startup Community Comes Together For Mumbai

Mumbai has been witnessing heavy rainfalls for the past two days and weather forecasts predict that this could be Mumbai’s longest and heaviest rainfall. Mumbai is currently facing water logged roads, traffic snarls and fallen trees in many parts of the city bringing life to a standstill. Movement of local trains was also affected, while flights were delayed or diverted leaving people stuck in offices, homes and on the roads.

To help out any individual in need many Mumbaikars have opened up their homes and offices to fellow citizens stuck or struggling on the streets. People took to twitter to let others know who to contact or call for assistance or seek shelter in neighboring areas.

Not wishing to be left behind the startup community also rallied and stepped up, offering free accommodation, food and shelter as Mumbaikars battle the worst rains in over a decade using their resources to help the city’s beleaguered citizens.

World’s largest online bus ticketing platform RedBus announced it was letting stranded Mumbaikars stay at its hotels for free and provided a number for coordination.

Fellow hotel aggregator startup Treebo also opened their hotels and tweeted the locations where people could stop and rest.

Search engine giant Google also ran alerts on its search page and provided useful information including a map of the areas affected, a red SOS warning and a link to the official Mumbai police Twitter handle.

Craft beer company Doolally also opened their doors for the people in Bandra, Khar, Andheri West, Colaba and Pedder Road with a promise of tea.

Cab hailing startups and rivals Ola and Uber also promised free rides and shuttles for Mumbaikars. Uber users can use the code ‘MUMBAIRAINS’ for free UberPOOL rides and the company has also canceled dynamic pricing during the heavy rains. 

Ola has also offered to run free shuttle services in multiple locations to ferry stranded citizens to shelters.

Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport’s (BEST) official mobile ticketing and pass renewal app Ridlr Mumbai has also used the microblogging site Twitter to keep the citizens updated regarding the weather conditions and traffic congestion in the city.

Mumbai police have also used the platform to its fullest capabilities to help stranded citizens by tweeting useful information and contact details.

If you live in Mumbai or are stuck there right now, please be strong and stay safe. Contact the helplines available if you are stuck or need help.