Ola’s response to viral video showing 350 cabs submerged in ‘unauthorised’ Noida yard

Footage shared by ANI shows Ola cabs submerged in water in Noida

Ola has responded to a viral video showing around 350 cabs submerged in the waters of the overflowing Hindon River in Greater Noida. The video shows dozens of cars parked in a yard which the District Magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, Manish Kumar Verma, called unauthorised.

Ola, however, says it has a valid lease agreement for the parking space.

Around 350 Ola cabs parked at a dump yard in Greater Noida were submerged as water overflowing from the swollen Hindon river entered the low-lying area, police said on Tuesday. Police said the dump yard is located in the floodplains of the Old Sutiyana village in the Ecotech 3 area.

Footage shared by news agency ANI shows water reaching the windshields of the submerged cars due to an increase in the water levels of the Hindon River. The video has gone viral with over 1.3 million views.

#WATCH | Noida, UP: Due to an increase in the water level of Hindon River, the area near Ecotech 3 got submerged due to which many vehicles got stuck. pic.twitter.com/a5WOcLCH02

— ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2023

“A private company has built its own unauthorised yard in the submergence area of the Hindon River, which has not removed the vehicles parked here even after repeated warnings. Normal life has not been affected in any way here, and there has been no loss of life,” Verma wrote while responding to the viral video on Twitter.

Ola, however, claims that it has a valid lease for the space with Mahindra First Choice. “We have a valid lease agreement with Mahindra First Choice for a vehicle parking yard in Noida. Ola has not received any notice from the government authorities since the inception of our lease agreement in 2020,” the cab aggregator said in a statement. “Any further queries may be directed to the lessor, Mahindra First Choice.”