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India Coca-Cola plant blamed for water scarcity, asked to leave

It has been reported that villages in the Mehdiganj area of the Varanasi district claim they have been facing water shortages since the Coca-Cola plant started operations in 1999.

“Elected village council heads represent the voice of the people, and they are clear that Coca-Cola is not welcome in Mehdiganj. It is time for Coca-Cola to pack up and leave,” said Amit Srivastava of the California-based India Resource Center, according to Reuters.

Srivastava added that while Coca-Cola gives the impression it is a responsible user of water, in India, it exploits water at the expense of the poor. He points out “women, children, farmers, and livestock have to live with less water because Coca-Cola mines groundwater in a water scarce area for profit.”

Mehdiganj has a largely agrarian economy and communities rely heavily on groundwater for most of their needs, including drinking, livestock and irrigation. Coca-Cola uses the very same groundwater for the company’s production needs, in direct competition with the local villages.

This is not the first time Coca-Cola has been cited
The 18 village councils have written a letter to the State Pollution Control Board who gave the initial permit to Coca-Cola in the first place, urging them to prohibit the company from extracting any more groundwater, said Srivastava.

He also pointed out that in 2011, the Central Ground Water Authority declared Arajiline block, where the bottling plant in located, as “over-exploited.” But Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt Ltd fired back with a 2012 report by another authority called the Central Ground Water Board, that said the company was in no way responsible for the ponds, groundwater, and wells drying up.

Reuters received an email statement from the company that said, “The Central Ground Water Board observed that this depletion was not due to the withdrawal of ground water by Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd (HCCBPL) plant.”

The statement also mentioned there was a “clear trend” of water depletion in “seven blocks of the Varanasi district and particularly in Arajiline block, the rate was higher.” The report goes on to say that there was enough water in ponds, wells and good crops of wheat and mustard have been observed in the fields.

However, environmental damage that has been going on since the company bought out the previous bottling plant, Kejriwal Beverages Pvt. Limited, has been swept under the rug. In 2000, the plant started dumping effluent onto the fields behind the plant, creating a 20-acre dead zone.

Sludge dumped by the plant is so toxic that people in the area have sores on their feet that won’t heal, and wells pump up foul smelling water, say the India Resource Center. The center cites other ongoing problems caused by the dumping of sludge and discharge effluent, such as creating ponds of filthy water only fit for mosquitoes to breed.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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