The Hindu : National : NGOs plan to deface cola hoardings

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Monday, Sep 20, 2004

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NGOs plan to deface cola hoardings

By Our Staff Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 19. Several environmentalist groups today announced a nationwide campaign against Pepsi and Coke companies in India with the formation of a human chain around the 100-odd cola manufacturing units across the country on January 20 next.

Human chain

Students and villagers will form a human chain against all cola-manufacturing plants in the country between 12 noon and 1-30 p.m. on that day.

This will be followed by a `jan adalat' (people's court) which will serve a formal notice to the managements of these units asking them to quit, said Vandana Shiva of the Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology here today. Her decision has been supported by Navdanya, Azadi Bachao Andolan and several other environmental organisations.

Preceding the `Quit India Movement' will be a weeklong programme for `defacing' all Pepsi and Coke hoardings from January 12.

During this period, school and college students will write letters to cricketers and filmstars, promoting the cause of cola, informing them about the `fraud' being perpetrated by these multinationals on the people and even show black-flags to the stars wherever they are shooting for these products.

`Engaged in water war'

"Coke and Pepsi are engaged in a water war against the people of India. Their bottling plants are daily stealing millions of litres of water, thereby denying local communities their fundamental right to water,'' Ms. Shiva pointed out.

The people of Plachimada in Kerala shut down a cola plant while people of Sivaganga in Tamil Nadu prevented a plant of Coke from being set up. Struggles have started in Jamshedpur in Jharkhand, in Patna and Hajipur in Bihar, Varanasi, Ballia, Hathras, Dasna, and Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh, Panipat in Haryana, Mandideep in Madhya Pradesh, Ahmedabad and Khera in Gujarat and Thane in Maharashtra against the Coke and Pepsi bottling plants.

At present, the NGOs will concentrate on the misdeeds of the multinationals for plundering the water resources. "We will organise village communities/ gram sabhas to assert their community rights to water and defend their local water resources as a public property for the welfare of all, not the profits of Coke and Pepsi,'' Ms. Shiva said.

Notice to MNCs

The gram sabhas and panchayats will pass resolutions to this effect and then serve notice on the multinational corporations for constitutional violations under the 73rd and 74th amendments stressing that water resources management should be devolved to the local level.

Health hazard

The NGOs will intensify their campaign against Coke and Pepsi as a health hazard especially among children and youth who are the targets of the multi-million advertising budget which has created a Rs. 6,000 crore market annually.

In Agra alone, the movement has set up 140 drinking water kiosks in 2004.

As addiction to Coke and Pepsi is adversely affecting the consumption of milk, the NGOs will mobilise the dairy industry to provide milk-based alternative drinks.

Also popularised will be lassi (sweet butter milk), sattu, nimbu paani (lemon water) and coconut water. Many campuses have already been declared as `Cola-Pepsi' free zones.

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