Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Unwise move

The ban on the production and sale of Coca Cola and Pepsi in Kerala, and their sale in educational institutions in many other States, is being portrayed by the Governments as an attempt at saving thousands from hazardous consumption. The claim would have been authentic had the ban been part of a larger policy decision. By banning just the two colas, we are sending wrong signals to the rest of the investing world. If we cannot evolve suitable norms and make adherence to them more stringent, we have no business blaming others for flouting them. Asking multi-national firms to shut shop in such a high-handed fashion will only drive away potential investors from India.

Siyad Abdul Rasheed,
Thiruvananthapuram

If the real reason for the ban was the high level of pesticide residue in them, then what does the Kerala Government have to say about the rivers and backwaters that are unhealthy to drink from and bathe in? The Periyar has high content of effluents and even radioactive wastes. The backwaters of Kuttanad and the Vembanad lake are dying by the day, thanks to the blatant and unscientific use of pesticides. Even the water supplied by various municipalities is a sure recipe to various water borne diseases.

K. Anilkumar,
Tirupur, T.N.

The knee-jerk reaction of some State Governments is certainly not fair, considering that similar tests have not been conducted on other beverages available in the market. Any major action like a ban on sales should have been taken after careful assessment and independent tests in government laboratories. The cola giants are a major source of employment to many people. The States have put FDI inflow in jeopardy.

J. Anantha Padmanabhan,
Srirangam, T.N.

Cigarettes and alcohol are more injurious to health than colas — this seems to be the argument put forth by many against the ban on Pepsi and Coke. The ill-effects of cigarettes and alcohol are known even to a layman. How many children drink alcohol or smoke compared to those who drink Pepsi and Coke? The drinks are endorsed by sportspersons and film stars, and the young who idolise them fall for the marketing glitz. Had the same findings been reported in the U.S., the MNCs would have been sued for millions of dollars by now.

V. Arun,
Hyderabad

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

The LTTE's war trap
DDT and malaria control
ICDS — The entitlement of every Indian child
The Mumbai death cells
On the highway to prosperity
Corrections and clarifications
Genes, ancestry, and where we came from
Massive environmental damage in Lebanon
`India will not kneel'
The human story
Unwise move

Copyright © 2006, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu