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CONTROVERSIAL COCA-COLA PLACHIMADA FACILITY DENIED LICENSE Rejection Follows Recent Actions in India and US For Immediate Release: Contacts: BOSTON--On April 27th, a local council of village leaders in Plachimada rejected a license renewal application by Coca-Cola to restart operations at one of the corporation's most controversial bottling facilities. This decision follows a recent court ruling that said the soft drink giant could draw up to 500,000 liters of groundwater a day, provided the corporation submitted its application and all related documents to the council of village leaders, called the panchayat, within two weeks. According to reports, Coke did not provide these additional documents, such as clearance from the state pollution control board, with its application. The panchayat announced its decision days after local community leaders organized a demonstration outside the Plachimada plant where hundreds of people representing a broad range of organizations gathered to demand that the soft drink giant permanently close its operations there. The decision also comes just a week after the corporation's annual shareholders' meeting in Wilmington, Delaware, where dozens of activists expressed solidarity with Indian communities and directly challenged Coke to stop stealing water. "The rejection of the license application by the panchayat is very encouraging," said Corporate Accountability International Executive Director Kathryn Mulvey. "There is a growing movement around the world and across the US calling for Coke to end its abusive actions. We join with community leaders and allies to demand that Coke permanently close this plant in Plachimada, close its plant in Mehdiganj and pay back the communities for the damage it has caused." Coke's abuses in India are part of an increasing pattern of corporations seeking to exploit water resources around the world amidst a growing water crisis. The United Nations estimates that if current trends continue, two-thirds of the world's population will not have enough water by 2025. Corporate Accountability International has joined the growing number of labor, human rights and environmental groups who are challenging Coke's abuses, and is highlighting its failure to meet the Standards of Political Conduct for Corporations. # # # Corporate Accountability International, formerly Infact, is a membership organization that protects people by waging and winning campaigns challenging irresponsible and dangerous corporate actions around the world. For over 25 years, we've forced corporations--like Nestlé, General Electric and Philip Morris/Altria--to stop abusive actions. Corporate Accountability International is an NGO in Official Relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). For more information visit www.stopcorporateabuse.org.
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