BENGALURU: India’s most renowned IT firms and startups have asked employees to work from home as torrential rains brought chaos to the streets of the technology hub, with water and electricity supply on the roads stalled.
While parts of the city where many global companies and domestic startups are under water, operations in IT firms and startups were largely unaffected as most of them had power backup and a hybrid work environment where few employees log from home. Used to do these.
But some posh housing colonies were flooded and tractors were pressed into service to rescue the residents.
However, technology companies engaged in research and development faced challenges in accessing laboratories, which has adversely affected their global workflow.
A senior executive at a German technology company, which has offices in Bengaluru, said most of the work is going on in the hybrid environment, but the problem lies in reaching the research laboratories.
Bengaluru residents, who ordered groceries and food items on the app, found that either orders were not being accepted at all for some locations, or the delivery time limit was more than an hour for those apps as well. More, which otherwise promise quick deliveries on regular days.
Karthik Gurumurthy, head of Swiggy Instamart, tweeted that rain has badly affected some areas like Sarjapur, Marathahalli and Bellandur.
He said, “We are working with our vendors to deliver as many orders as possible today. Trust us… Your order may be delayed but we will deliver.”
As rain disrupted traffic and disrupted life, footage of IT workers traveling in tractors to reach workplaces amid heavy waterlogging in the city also surfaced on social media platforms.
“All our associates in Bengaluru are safe. We are monitoring the situation closely and our delivery teams have been advised to take precautions,” said a spokesperson of the company. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said.
However, it did not give the number of employees who reached the office and logged in from home.
Indian IT major Wipro It advised its employees to work from home on Tuesday and said that business continuity plan has been implemented.
“Due to heavy rains in Bengaluru, Wipro has advised its employees to work from home today. Business continuity plans have been implemented and there is no disruption in business,” Wipro said in response to an e-mailed query by PTI. has come.”
Several parts of the city hit by rain on Tuesday saw visuals again on Monday – roads and streets inundated, tractors carrying people in flooded areas, submerged vehicles and more overnight rain.
E-commerce firm Flipkart said it is closely monitoring the situation and all its corporate employees have been advised to continue working from home.
A Flipkart spokesperson said, “We are taking steps to help any employees and families affected by the rains. For direct information, we provide our employees with a regular advisory with helpline numbers to deal with any emergency.” send.”
The Walmart Group firm further said it was “continuing to serve” customers.
“For our delivery staff and hubs in the affected areas, we have maintained a helpline number and have SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for their safety including safety training, SOS awareness, loss prevention awareness and response protocols etc.” Flipkart spokesperson said.
Some professionals on social media platforms blamed encroachment, especially around lakes and illegal constructions, as one of the reasons for the heavy flooding in the city.
Dramatic footage of rescues, flooded streets and homes, and submerged cars circulated on social media platforms throughout the day.
Gaurav Munjal, founder of SoftBank-backed education technology firm Unacademy, took to Twitter after his family and dog were rescued from a tractor. “Things are bad. Please take care.”
Rituparna Mandal, General Manager, MediaTek, Bengaluru said that the company is taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the teams during the flood situation.
“We have issued guidelines to ensure minimum disruption in work and have advised employees to work from home till the situation improves,” Mandal said.
MediaTek has around 800 employees in India, but it did not share the Bengaluru breakup.
A Meesho spokesperson said the startup announced a first of its kind ‘boundaryless workplace model’ in February this year, which gives employees the option to work from home, office or any location of their choice.
“The flexibility of the policy enables employees to choose a location based on their convenience, breaking the traditional workplace dynamic of mandatory attendance at the office.
“The work-from-anywhere model has played a vital role in the current situation in Bengaluru, when daily movement has been severely disrupted due to incessant rains,” the spokesperson said.
The decentralization of the workplace therefore plays an important role in ensuring that neither employees nor “our operations are adversely affected by rain,” the spokesperson said.
“In addition, we have satellite offices in major metro cities that provide employees with more options to choose their preferred work location. Driven by our people-first mindset, we will continue to pursue forward-looking and industry-defined policies that support our customers’ needs.” The best lies in the interests of the employees,” a Meesho spokesperson said.
While parts of the city where many global companies and domestic startups are under water, operations in IT firms and startups were largely unaffected as most of them had power backup and a hybrid work environment where few employees log from home. Used to do these.
But some posh housing colonies were flooded and tractors were pressed into service to rescue the residents.
However, technology companies engaged in research and development faced challenges in accessing laboratories, which has adversely affected their global workflow.
A senior executive at a German technology company, which has offices in Bengaluru, said most of the work is going on in the hybrid environment, but the problem lies in reaching the research laboratories.
Bengaluru residents, who ordered groceries and food items on the app, found that either orders were not being accepted at all for some locations, or the delivery time limit was more than an hour for those apps as well. More, which otherwise promise quick deliveries on regular days.
Karthik Gurumurthy, head of Swiggy Instamart, tweeted that rain has badly affected some areas like Sarjapur, Marathahalli and Bellandur.
He said, “We are working with our vendors to deliver as many orders as possible today. Trust us… Your order may be delayed but we will deliver.”
As rain disrupted traffic and disrupted life, footage of IT workers traveling in tractors to reach workplaces amid heavy waterlogging in the city also surfaced on social media platforms.
“All our associates in Bengaluru are safe. We are monitoring the situation closely and our delivery teams have been advised to take precautions,” said a spokesperson of the company. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) said.
However, it did not give the number of employees who reached the office and logged in from home.
Indian IT major Wipro It advised its employees to work from home on Tuesday and said that business continuity plan has been implemented.
“Due to heavy rains in Bengaluru, Wipro has advised its employees to work from home today. Business continuity plans have been implemented and there is no disruption in business,” Wipro said in response to an e-mailed query by PTI. has come.”
Several parts of the city hit by rain on Tuesday saw visuals again on Monday – roads and streets inundated, tractors carrying people in flooded areas, submerged vehicles and more overnight rain.
E-commerce firm Flipkart said it is closely monitoring the situation and all its corporate employees have been advised to continue working from home.
A Flipkart spokesperson said, “We are taking steps to help any employees and families affected by the rains. For direct information, we provide our employees with a regular advisory with helpline numbers to deal with any emergency.” send.”
The Walmart Group firm further said it was “continuing to serve” customers.
“For our delivery staff and hubs in the affected areas, we have maintained a helpline number and have SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for their safety including safety training, SOS awareness, loss prevention awareness and response protocols etc.” Flipkart spokesperson said.
Some professionals on social media platforms blamed encroachment, especially around lakes and illegal constructions, as one of the reasons for the heavy flooding in the city.
Dramatic footage of rescues, flooded streets and homes, and submerged cars circulated on social media platforms throughout the day.
Gaurav Munjal, founder of SoftBank-backed education technology firm Unacademy, took to Twitter after his family and dog were rescued from a tractor. “Things are bad. Please take care.”
Rituparna Mandal, General Manager, MediaTek, Bengaluru said that the company is taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the teams during the flood situation.
“We have issued guidelines to ensure minimum disruption in work and have advised employees to work from home till the situation improves,” Mandal said.
MediaTek has around 800 employees in India, but it did not share the Bengaluru breakup.
A Meesho spokesperson said the startup announced a first of its kind ‘boundaryless workplace model’ in February this year, which gives employees the option to work from home, office or any location of their choice.
“The flexibility of the policy enables employees to choose a location based on their convenience, breaking the traditional workplace dynamic of mandatory attendance at the office.
“The work-from-anywhere model has played a vital role in the current situation in Bengaluru, when daily movement has been severely disrupted due to incessant rains,” the spokesperson said.
The decentralization of the workplace therefore plays an important role in ensuring that neither employees nor “our operations are adversely affected by rain,” the spokesperson said.
“In addition, we have satellite offices in major metro cities that provide employees with more options to choose their preferred work location. Driven by our people-first mindset, we will continue to pursue forward-looking and industry-defined policies that support our customers’ needs.” The best lies in the interests of the employees,” a Meesho spokesperson said.