My name is Jane Olszweski, and I am a student leader at the Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. For the past two years, I have organized activities on campus such as the Tap Water Challenge, which pits fancy bottled water against good old tap water. Most people can’t tell the difference between tap water and leading bottled water brands—not surprising when you consider that brands like Dasani use municipal tap water for their source.

The Tap Water Challenge is part of Corporate Accountability International’s Think Outside the Bottle campaign—which exposes the dangerous reality behind the image of bottled water.
The Think Outside the Bottle campaign is part of a much larger campaign to protect water as a human right and to challenge corporate control of water. Today, I’m here to highlight the dangerous reality that communities in India face because of Coke’s water abuses.

In India, Coke bottling plants drain millions of gallons of water from local communities, leaving many with dry wells and parched fields.

This spring marked the fifth year of the movement in Plachimada demanding Coke permanently close its plant there. In places like Plachimada and Mehdiganj, Coca-Cola is draining water without regard for the impact on the local community. People have had enough. The movement has grown across India and around the world. Increasingly, student, faith and community groups internationally have become aware of the irresponsible and dangerous practices of Coca-Cola. Over the past year, we’ve hosted solidarity actions to further voice the demands to Coca-Cola. Mehdiganj is at the heart of this struggle.

This January, the District Magistrate of Varanasi declared Mehdiganj a 'dark zone' for water, recognizing that the water table is dangerously low. People in the dark zone areas are prohibited from taking out any groundwater, and need special permission to install even a tube-well or hand-pump. Yet, with its tremendous economic and political clout, Coca-Cola is allowed to siphon away water without recourse. This is unacceptable.

Our allies in India filed a complaint to the Central Pollution Control Board concerning water loss in Mehdiganj. The Board sent a team in February that affirmed that Coca-Cola has caused water depletion in the area that has caused the water table to fall to a dangerously low level.
Coca-Cola promotes itself as a good global neighbor, but these practices send a different message. Mr. Isdell, why does Coca-Cola continue to operate the bottling plant in Mehdiganj while people in the community must respect the dark zone?

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