PHOTO: VIVEK BENDRE

The Vaitarna River in Wada Taluka of Thane district is a source of water for Coca-Cola.

WADA (Thane district): The recent controversy over pesticides in soft drinks has revived agitations against the Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages factory at Kudus village in Wada taluka. Farmers complain that the much-needed water for agriculture in the area is being sold cheaply to the cola company.

Revised rates

Irrigation Department sources told The Hindu that from September 1, 2006, Hindustan Coca-Cola would pay revised rates of Rs. 170 for 10,000 litres of water. The earlier rate was Rs. 145 for 10,000 litres. These are the rates for raw water that all mineral water manufacturers and breweries have to pay.

Daily water use by the factory amounts to about 90-100 units, the sources said. Each unit is equal to 10,000 litres.

The source of the water is the Vaitarna river near Gandhre village and it is piped to the plant.

Protests revived

Kunbi Sena president Vishwanath Patil told The Hindu that if the Coca-Cola plant in Kerala had been closed, why should it be allowed to run in Wada? The Kunbis are a large agrarian community in Thane district and the Kunbi Sena, formed in October 2000, has been opposed to the plant since then. Protests against the plant have revived after recent reports about pesticides in the soft drink. The Sena has staged protests in front of the tehsildar's office in Wada taluka. It is planning to step up the agitation from November.

Agro industries favoured

The main issue agitating the farmers is that a minor irrigation project meant for the local people is being used for a bottling plant. Patil says, "The company's claim that they are employing locals is bogus. We have a lot of skilled labour here. Why were they not given jobs?" He said the Government was giving so many concessions and fresh water at cheap rates to multinationals when local people do not have water for drinking or irrigation. Wada was a lush paddy growing area but now with increased industrialisation, all that is a thing of the past. "Instead of such factories, farmers would benefit from some agro industries," he pointed out.

Centre of protests

The Coke plant at Wada has attracted several protests since it started production in February 2000. In 2002-2003, there were agitations on the issue of water and employment, mostly spearheaded by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the All-India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA). "The minor irrigation project near Gandhre village was built in 1950 for nine villages around. There is no lift irrigation and the villagers find it difficult to use that water," Patil said.

Four years ago AIDWA led an agitation against Coke saying it was paying very low rates for water, did not use locals for work in the plant and paid poor compensation to the families who gave up their land for the plant.

Things has quietened down since then but the CPI(M) says its stand has been consistent. While it is not for closure of the plant, Raju Paranjpe, State committee member of the CPI(M), told The Hindu , "We have been demanding that the company pay the Government Rs. 3 a litre. This money should come to the zilla parishad and be used for the development of this backward region."

Incentives

The Maharashtra Government has offered special incentives to industries willing to set up units in backward regions such as Wada taluka. According to the company, the Hindustan Coca-Cola manufacturing plant, spread over 67 acres, had a state-of-the-art facility and an environment management and rainwater harvesting facility. At the zero discharge factory, water used in the manufacturing process was recycled to be used for gardening and for toilets.

Rainwater was being harvested since 2003 to recharge ground water. The plant had its own effluent treatment plant and waste sludge was packed off to the centralised hazardous waste dumping unit at Taloja. The Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) had given it a clean chit.

95 p.c. of staff locals

The company says the plant employs more than 550 people of whom 95 per cent are local people. It states that there is a community programme in place, which benefits 21 villages around the plant. In addition, there are health care programmes, a free ambulance service and provision of drinking water supply in summer, apart from mini water supply schemes in some villages in Wada taluka this summer.

The company did not reply to questions related to the pricing of water.

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