NEWS: Indian Village Battles Coca Cola, page 1

posted on Oct, 31 2005 @ 05:56 PM

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Protests are taking place in the village of Moolathara in Kerala India, a year after village elders closed down a four year old coca cola factory accusing Coca Cola of contaminating ground water. Government pollution and environment officials in Kerala say that the coca cola factory's effluent treatment was inadequate and the sludge of bio solids contained large levels of cadmium and other toxic pollutants. Residents fear that the company will re open the plant after Kerala officials cancelled the licence of the company in March 2004. Coca cola has appealed against the licence cancellations and rejects the charges made by the officials and residents citing hundreds of pages of reports and documents with favourable reports on the factories activities.

in.today.reuters .com
At a hut in the farming village of Moolathara in Kerala, a disparate group of farmers, labourers and activists gather each day to carry on their "David and Goliath" battle.

They worry Coke will try to re-open the plant, which they say has contaminated and depleted their water supply.

"Let people come here and drink the water, bathe in it and see for themselves," says 56-year-old Mylamma, a tribal grey-haired woman, who worked as a farmhand. "We can't find work because the fields are barren."

But Atlanta-based Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft drink maker, said water shortages in the area have been caused by low rainfall over two successive years.

The company returned to India in 1993, more than 15 years after it was thrown out by a socialist government for refusing to give up its secret formula.

It has invested almost $1 billion in India -- and taken over the local company that filled its shoes, Thums Up -- but protesters like the ones at the plant in Kerala are fighting its ambitions to expand in Asia's third-largest economy.

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The villagers and people have the right to reject the factory if it doesn't suit the environment it was built in. If these high levels of toxic chemicals are indeed found to be the fault of coca cola, then they should be banned from trading in the country.

I notice they have bought out the local opposition to coke and nullified it to create a monopoly.

[edit on 31-10-2005 by Mayet]

namehere

posted on Oct, 31 2005 @ 06:18 PM

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cadmium? i dont see how thats cokes fault, i doubt they are mning zinc, copper or lead ores or manufacturing heavy industry products, i think the villagers are over reacting and their problems are from plastic factories, batterys, and other industrial products, not coca-cola.

edited because coke is something used in heavy industry and someone might confuse coke for the drink name coke.

[edit on 31-10-2005 by namehere]

shots

posted on Oct, 31 2005 @ 08:51 PM

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Originally posted by namehere
cadmium? i dont see how thats cokes fault, i doubt they are mning zinc, copper or lead ores or manufacturing heavy industry products, i think the villagers are over reacting and their problems are from plastic factories, batterys, and other industrial products, not coca-cola.
[edit on 31-10-2005 by namehere]

This is nothing new; two years ago they said it was pesticides and when that did not work the ECO friendlies Environmental groups changed it to cadmium just to scare people.

www.atimes.com...

Coca-Cola and Pepsi are contemplating legal action against the Centre for Science and Environment.

[edit on 10/31/2005 by shots]