3 min readNew DelhiAug 11, 2026 10:21 AM IST
A stunt by a used-car platform involving a branded boat on a flooded Gurgaon road landed the company a Rs 50,000 challan, but the boat was soon used by stranded commuters, prompting an online debate over the city’s waterlogging and infrastructure.
An executive of Cars24 revealed that the fine was linked to the use of a branded boat on a waterlogged road. Prachi Sharma said the company had deployed a Cars24-branded blue boat road as a joke about the city’s waterlogging during the monsoon.
“₹50,000. That is what it cost us to break the law in Gurgaon last week. The crime: a boat. The location: a road. The road: a river. We put a Cars24 boat in the water as a joke about the rain. The challan arrived in seconds. The flooding has been arriving for years, and has never cost anyone anything,” Sharma wrote in a LinkedIn post.
‘Will pay the challan again’
She also shared a picture of four people rowing the blue boat, with “Cars24” written on its side, through a waterlogged road. “People started getting in to get home because rowing was the fastest way across,” she wrote, adding, “A joke stops being funny the moment it becomes a commute.”
Sharma said Cars24 had already paid for the boat.
“We will pay the challan again (if we are required to take the boat out this week as well, to help people apparently). Still waiting for someone to be billed for the water and sincerely hoping this does grab the right eyeballs,” she wrote.
‘A landing cost’
Sharma’s post quickly gained traction, drawing a wave of reactions.
“The boat may have been the headline, but the real story is that people found it useful. When a joke starts solving a real problem, it says more about the infrastructure than the campaign itself,” a user wrote.
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“I believe the reason of challan be that no one is wearing Life Jackets on boat. That is compulsory for any boat rides,” another user commented.
“Consider challan a landing cost of this smart marketing campaign. These are the campaign which Raise the standard of a brand,” a third user chimed in.
