|
|
| Search | Site Map |
 |
Coca-Cola, Indian village in dispute some locals say company used up, polluted water By Craig Simmons PLACHIMADA, India — The gate of the Coca-Cola bottling plant in this remote village is locked. Weeds grow around warehouses that have been idle since 2004, when the local government ordered Coke to halt operations. The factory in Plachimada, a tiny farming village in southern India's Kerala state, is at the heart of a dispute about how Coke uses water. The controversy has cost the Atlanta-based company in lost sales, legal fees and damage to its brand image, analysts say. Some villagers, Indian officials and international activists say the bottling plant made local wells go dry and polluted water supplies. Coca-Cola officials dispute those claims. The company followed "high environmental standards," among the best in the world, said Atul Singh, president of Coke's India division. The facts of the case are mired in an array of scientific reports, anecdotal claims and legal action before the Indian Supreme Court. Coke operates 60 bottling plants in India, and the company has faced protests in other communities over its use of water. Some villagers in Plachimada say that after Coke began drawing water from a local aquifer to make soft drinks in 2000, wells dried out and groundwater began to smell and sicken people who drank it. State environmental officials accuse Coke of giving factory waste laced with cadmium, a highly toxic element, to locals as fertilizer. Coke says waste given to farmers was harmless, citing a September 2003 report by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board. It also disputes that its water use in Plachimada was more than peripherally responsible for a drop in the local water table. Other studies by state and federal agencies, which Coke disputes as being flawed by deficient sampling techniques, found toxic levels of cadmium in a well and in factory waste. The state pollution board sent a letter to Coke's India head office in September accusing the company of polluting. A handful of activists have amplified the allegations, raising the issue locally, at North American and European colleges, protests and shareholder meetings. Activists have portrayed what happened as a story of a rich multinational corporation abusing a poor community. "This is far less about the science than it is about the politics. We have been the target of unfair criticism by people who are using us to push a political agenda," said Kari Bjorhus, a Coca-Cola representative. But as the world's population swells and potable water becomes increasingly scarce, such conflicts are more likely. Because Coca-Cola is one of the world's best-known brands and water is the main ingredient in its beverages, "consumers and activists will look at them to see if they're doing the right things when using water," said Lauren Torres, a beverage industry analyst at investment bank HSBC. When the $16 million bottling plant was built in 1999, Plachimada's 1,200 residents welcomed the 350 full-time jobs it created. But after the plant began operating, some villagers started to blame it for a drop in local wells and for what they saw as deteriorating water quality. Other villagers and a government study, however, say lower well levels in 2002 and 2003 could have been caused by a drought. A study by the state government found that the aquifer the Coca-Cola bottling plant was drawing from fell almost 5 feet from May 2003 to May 2004, shortly after the plant closed. But because officials did not monitor groundwater levels before Coke began operating in Plachimada, "we can't say how much they are responsible" for the reduced groundwater level, said a government scientist who spoke on condition of anonymity because the factory case is pending before India's high court. Despite the confusion, activists are calling for boycotts of Coke products. Coca-Cola officials accuse activists of exploiting the India claims. Coke has been targeted "because our operations are highly visible, and because our brand name increases the likelihood of media attention for their issue and their organization," Bjorhus said. Meanwhile, in Plachimada, some locals hope the factory will reopen. "People who worked in the factory lost their jobs, and if they reopen, certainly we can all get jobs," said Mehnunnisa, a 22-year-old woman who lives beside the bottling plant. Like many Indians, she uses only one name. Others, however, want Coke to stay away. Sorrya, a 23-year-old farm laborer, worried that local water remained unsafe to drink. He said that during dry spells, wells remained lower than in 2000. "After all the problems, how can we trust Coca-Cola now?" he asked. FAIR USE NOTICE
|
|
