With reference to "Coca-Cola faces case under SC/ST Act in Kerala" (June 13), Coca-Cola is back in the news again for wrong reasons. Its unit at Plachimada in Kerala was jinxed from the beginning, dogged by fierce controversy over its deleterious environmental impact on the region that attracted the nation's attention in 2004 when the company was finally forced to shut down its business. The battle against the company was waged by a group of local women led by Mayilamma, as they had to suffer acute water scarcity after the former's operations began to take a severe toll on the groundwater levels. The beverage giant was extracting 1.5 million litres per day through powerful pump sets which led to the depletion of sources like wells, ponds, water tanks and canals. Also, the toxic sludge from the plant's effluents containing high levels of cadmium and lead was having an adverse effect on the nearby agricultural fields. The company had even vainly sought to bribe the panchayat president when its licence was cancelled.
Today, faced with declining sales in the West owing to growing awareness of the health hazards of junk food, the global beverage companies are targeting developing countries, particularly India, in view of its huge consumer market. That, in the name of economic growth, our governments are competitively wooing investments from these water-guzzling companies, especially at a time when there is severe drought afflicting man and animals alike, is regrettable and reflective of skewed priorities (although as a silver lining, fast food has been banned in the canteens of Central Board of Secondary Education-affiliated schools).
The cola corporates may flaunt their water conservation programmes under corporate social responsibility, but they should realise that those are not some extraordinary favours to the country but the least that ought to be done in return for exploiting a precious natural resource and public good. The health and ecological costs from these companies will certainly far outweigh all the potential economic benefits, in the long term. The hundreds of acres being given to them can be diverted for better productive purposes like renewable energy projects or rearing local breeds of bovines.
C V Krishna Manoj Hyderabad
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