YOUTH AGAINST COCA-COLA
by students of IIT (BHU) Varanasi
Ever imagined in your worst nightmare that your cheap twenty bucks on a Coke may be depriving
someone from his share of WATER?? Ever wondered how an innocent-sounding Multi-National
Company like Coca-Cola gets away unpunished after looting water from Indian farmers, disposing
their Carcinogenic wastes on farmers land and most importantly, wiping out the souls of hundreds
on a daily basis. Have a look at how your daily twenty bucks of Coke sustained the Silent Monster
and what the corporation ended up doing with its malpractices
COCA-COLA-OPEN SICKNESS
CSE, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a non-governmental organization in New Delhi,
found that the Indian produced Pepsi's soft drink products had 36 times the level of pesticide
residues permitted under European Union regulations.
Areas having production plant of Coke suffer with high level CADMIUM and LEAD.
The bottled product itself carries DDT, lindane and malathion in a fatally high
concentration.
Recently in US, even the trademark red paint on Coke Cans has been banned due to
presence of cancer causing substances in its Caramel coloring.
COCA-COLA-A STORY OF ECONOMIC LOSS
Coke along with Pepsi controls 95% of the Indian soft drink market. They have bought many
Indian producers in the process.
This 95% hold allows them to decide rates as per their will which is a complete violation of
Free Market practice of our country.
A bottle of Coke is produced in a mere 40-50 paisa but sold outside in 12-13 rupees but this
goes unchecked as the is no competition to check the rates.
9 litres of Ground Water is used up in production of per liter of Coke which then becomes
toxic for any further use.
Kinley, a Coke product, charges Rs 15-20 per bottle for our ground water they pumped
up,nearly for free.
80-85 % of the money earned by Coca Cola goes outside India harming the Indian
Economics dearly.
Also, Coke has not provided permanent employment and proper wages to workers in many
plants in India.
MEHDIGANJ-A COKE CASUALTY
Mehandiganj is located 20 km from Varanasi on Sher Shah Suri road (Grand Trunk Road)
where Coca Cola started its production from 1999 and since then it has seen a disaster in
acutest form.
The company pumps up 500,000 liters of ground water daily which has led to severe
scarcity of water in the area.
The Block has been declared as DARK-ZONE. This prohibited LOCAL FARMERS from setting
up any tube wells/hand pumps for irrigation purposes on their own lands.
The whole soil and reaming water in the 5km periphery has been enormously depleted and
polluted.
The people are suffering from diseases caused by pesticides and a large number of cattle
population has died due to toxic environment.
The workers have not been employed on a Permanent basis in spite of the fact that the
company is functional from more than 10 years.
Such has been the extent of exploitation that Coke even sold toxic sludge to farmers as
fertilizer until they realized the heavy metals were killing the crops and doing permanent
damage to the soil and human health.
CURRENT SCENARIO
Acting upon the orders of District Magistrate Pranjal Yadav, the local tehsildar
ordered the company to return 19 bissas (roughly 1 bigha) of land to gram
panchayat. The action to evict Coca-Cola comes as the result of an order that was
passed by the Tehsildar, the local revenue officer, on December 16, 2013 after an
investigation conducted by the authorities at the insistence of local villagers.
The land occupied illegally by Coca-Cola approximately 2,500 square meters
within the premises of its bottling plant is community owned land and meant
for common use by the community.
The Struggles:
The arrogance of Coca-Cola in India is not going unanswered. In fact, the growing opposition to Coca-Colaprimarily from Coca-Cola affected communities- has spread so rapidly and gained so much strength that
Coca-Cola is now on the defensive.
Kala Dera, Rajasthan: In the state of Rajasthan, the High Court ruled in November 2004 that all
soft drinks in the state must state the level of pesticides on the product label, in addition to
the ingredients. In response to the court order to state the level of pesticides on their labels, CocaCola appealed the decision on the grounds that such an action would force them to compromise with
their "commercial confidentiality"! Coca-Cola also submitted to the court that small traces of DDT
and other pesticides are not harmful "to the health of the consumers." The court rejected the appeal,
and significantly, stated that "commercial interests are subservient to fundamental rights."
Mehdiganj, Varanasi: Agitation began in 2003 by local farmers and villagers, which was joined and
strengthened by many eminent social activists and environmentalists like Dr. Sandeep Pandey
,Medha patkar and Nandlal Master. The local people have been peacefully protesting since last 10
years and still have been rewarded with nothing but Lathi Charge and arrests by Police. According
to a local women, in 2003,the police had thrown rocks as big as bricks at their homes and asked
whether we thought we would ever win the fight. The Coca-Cola Company has used its Money
power in shameless Lobbying in the corridors of power and seeking undue favours thereafter
(ministries, Secretariats, State Assemblies, election fund-raisings, party offices) to suppress these
protests which has left these local uneducated people without any voice and support.
What We Intend to do:
We, the students of IIT-BHU, under the guidance of our professor Dr.Sandeep Pandey (Ramon
Magsaysay Awardee) intend to show this real face of Coca Cola brand to the public.
We intend to achieve this through peaceful means.
We intend to ask questions through Right to Information Act and bring forward the truth infront of
the public to see and judge accordingly.
We intend to mobilise support in favor of the exploited people of Mehandiganj who after their years
of struggle are beginning to lose Hope.
We have chalked out plans publish various reports authentic enough to be noticed,to make people
aware of unethical practices of Coca-cola.
Example To Draw Inspiration:
Plachimada, Kerala: The single largest Coca-Cola bottling plant in India, in Plachimada, Kerala,
remains shut down since March 2004. Initially ordered to shut down until June 15 (for arrival of
monsoon rains) by the state government to ease drought conditions, the Plachimada bottling plant
has been unable to open because the local village council (panchayat) is REFUSING to reissue
Coca-Cola a license to operate. The village council has maintained that the plant needs to shut
down because it has destroyed the water system in the area as well as polluted the area.So, its time
we stop drinking Coke and stand up together for this cause and for our fellow country men.
Coca-cola across the globe: where Coca-cola hired mercenaries to murder union leaders in
Columbia and Guatemala. Cheating workers and government of Mexico out of Hundreds of dollar.
History of racial discrimination in United states. For all these criminal activities Coca-cola was fined
for $192.5 million.
Still thinking of that Killer Coke you had yesterday?? If you really want to get rid of
the blot of Coca-Cola and pose an existential threat to the survival of that
devilish Corporation, join our campaign of .Your participation in the same and
outright rejection of that 'Coke' could go about saving a million souls round the globe.
Think about it and make your individual contribution in this direction starting today.
So be aware of fact that by drinking Coke, you may be depriving someone from his share of WATER.
For further queries, Contact us:
Our Facebook page: www.fb.com/nopepsinocoke
References: www.Indiaresource.org
www.killercoke.org
email: [email protected]
CSE-Down to earth magazine
Pesticides in Coke
