Wednesday, 24 October 2012

Coca-Cola Continues Unethical and Dishonest Practices in India


 Kala Dera is a large village outside the city of Jaipur where agriculture is the primary source of livelihood. Coca-Cola started its bottling operations in Kala Dera in 2000, and within a year, the community started to notice a rapid decline in groundwater levels.
Unusable Well in Kala Dera Confirms Depleted Water Levels
Unusable Well in Kala Dera Showing Depleted Water Level
For farmers, loss of groundwater translated directly into loss of income. For women, it meant having to walk an additional 5 to 6 kilometers just to fetch water to meet the basic daily needs of the family. For many children in Kala Dera, it meant leaving schools to provide a much needed helping hand doing household chores since the women had additional burdens. The community in Kala Dera organized itself to challenge the Coca-Cola company for the worsening water conditions - through extraction and pollution - and demanded the closure of the Coca-Cola bottling plant. The company, in usual fashion, denied any wrongdoing, blaming "outsiders" for the increasing local community opposition.

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