Company employees going with a boat in waterlogging in Gurugram. Inset shows company head Prachi Sharma, who informed about the challan.
During heavy rains in Gurugram, CARS24, an online used-car buying and selling platform, launched a branded blue boat on a waterlogged road to highlight the city’s flooding.
The stunt, however, drew action from the traffic police. After receiving information about the boat, officials seized it for allegedly violating traffic rules and imposed a ₹50,000 fine on the company.
Brand head shares boat picture on LinkedIn
The incident came to light after CARS24 Brand and Communications Head Prachi Sharma shared a picture of the boat on LinkedIn. In her post, she wrote, “Issue a challan to those responsible for waterlogging as well.”
Company says stunt was aimed at highlighting waterlogging
Speaking to Dainik Bhaskar Sharma said, “The company had launched the boat on Saturday (8 Aug) to highlight, in a satirical manner, the waterlogging on Gurugram’s roads and what it described as the administration’s failure to address the problem.”
She said, “Police officials arrived within a few minutes of the boat being launched and issued the company a ₹50,000 challan.”
CARS24’s Brand and Communication Head Prachi Sharma posted about the challan on her LinkedIn account.
Now know what Prachi Sharma wrote in her post…
‘Rs 50,000 was the price we paid’
CARS24 Brand and Communications Head Prachi Sharma said, “The company had to pay ₹50,000 after launching its branded boat on a waterlogged Gurugram road.”
In a LinkedIn post, Sharma described the incident as the ‘price’ for breaking the law saying, “The company had turned a flooded road into a mock river by launching the CARS24 boat. The challan was issued within seconds.”
‘It stopped being a joke when people needed boats’
Sharma said, “Waterlogging has been a recurring problem in Gurugram for years and no one has been held accountable for it.”
She said, “The situation had reached a point where people began using boats to travel home because crossing flooded roads by boat became the quickest option. “The moment a joke becomes a daily necessity, it stops being a joke.”
‘Issue a challan to those responsible for waterlogging too’
Sharma said, “The company had paid the fine for its boat stunt and would be willing to pay another challan if it launched the boat again to help people during waterlogging.”
She also questioned who would be held accountable for the flooding and called for action against those responsible for the recurring waterlogging. She added, “The incident was intended to draw attention to the problem and asked whether other cities were facing a similar situation.”
LinkedIn post of Prachi Sharma, Head of Brand and Communication of the company.
ACP Traffic: ‘I can comment only after receiving complete details’
Gurugram ACP Traffic Satyapal Yadav said he was not yet aware of the incident involving the CARS24 boat and the ₹50,000 challan.
He said, “I would be able to comment only after receiving a complete report from officers on the ground and after obtaining details about the incident and the challan issued to the company.”
