ACTION ALERT - SOLIDARITY WITH ANTI COCA COLA AGITATION IN INDIA

Please add your name to the sample letter at the bottom of this post and forward to it to  chiefminister@kerala.gov.in (bcc a copy to initiative@riseup - Indian campaign organisers). Anti Coca Cola actions also needed to draw attention to this and worry them! No need to read the background below if you know about plachimada already!

More Info about Plachimada and Coca Cola from Indian campaign:

Dear friends/ comrades,
Greetings!

The communities near the Plachimada plant of Coca Cola,
where one of the bottling plants of Coke is situated are
engaged in a battle since last two and a half years
against the exploitation of the ground water and the
subsequent drying up of wells in the area resulting in
acute shortage of drinking water. The struggle which
began as an agitation by the tribals in the area, gathered
support from different sections of the people and thus
resulting in the cancellation of the license by the Local
self government known as Panchayats. The question, which
this struggle poses, is who controls the resource and how
it should be utilized. The struggle is now more than 650
days old (654 days as on Feb 6th, 2003) and has now
gathered support from different sections of the society
including political parties, trade unions, progressive
groups etc. (We are attaching a small write up on the
Multi national robbery in Plachimada for your reference)

The Government of India meanwhile set up a Joint
Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to verify whether the
contention of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE)
that the soft drinks made in India by Pepsi Co Inc. and
Coca-Cola Co. contain pesticides residues at more than the
EU standard levels is true or not, and if so suggest
remedial measures. The CSE had asserted that 12 brands of
cold drinks made by the two American companies contained
high levels of four extremely toxic pesticides: lindane,
DDT, malathion and chlorpyrifos. The group said these
pesticides could damage the human nervous system.
The 15-member JPC tabled its 180-page report in Parliament
on 4th February, 2004, six months after the CSE made its
findings public. The report of JPC has upheld the stand
taken by the CSE that the pesticides were found in these
drinks. The panel urged the Indian government to set new
and stronger health standards for all beverages sold in
the country.

The Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) has held soft
drinks majors Coca Cola and PepsiCo's plants in Palakkad
district of Kerala, responsible for "causing pollution of
water, depleting ground water and reducing crop yields
besides causing ailments to human beings" and asked the
Government of Kerala State to take immediate corrective
measures.

The Solidarity Committee of Plachimada People's Struggle
is holding a protest march to the State Legislative
Assembly on 6th February at Trivandrum demanding immediate
action against the Coke and Pepsi plants in Kerala State.

We request you to write/email/fax to the Chief Minister of
Kerala ( chiefminister@kerala.gov.in) to withdraw the license given to the company and to
give the local authorities exclusive rights to decide on
the use of their water resources. Please give a copy of
your mail to  initiative@riseup.net

Please add your name and forward the sample letter below to  chiefminister@kerala.gov.in:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chief Minister Mr A.K. Anthony
Room No.141, IIIrd Floor
North Block
Secretariat
Thiruvananthapuram 695 001
INDIA
 chiefminister@kerala.gov.in

Dear Chief Minister,

As a student at Oxford University and a resident of Oxford, UK, I am
deeply concerned about developments at the Coca-Cola plant, Perumatty
Panchayat, Kerala, a case which has received much media attention in the UK.

There are three main issues of concern:
1. The depletion and contamination of ground water. This has been
substantiated by various studies, including a water sample analysis carried
out by Greepeace and analysed by Dr. Mark Chernaik of ELAW US which found
that use of the water for bathing and washing would cause severe nuisance
and hardship. On the basis of tests at the Regional Analytical Laboratory
at Kozhikode, the medical officer of the Public Health Centre recently
informed the Perumatty gram panchayat that people should not drink water
from the three wells neighbouring the Coca-Cola plant.

2. The distribution of sludge, which Coca-Cola claimed to be beneficial as
manure. Analysis by the University of Exeter and the Kerala pollution
control board has shown that the solid waste generated by the factory is
not advisable for applying to agricultural land as manure. Repeated
application will lead to a build up of toxic metals in the soil, from where
cadmium could be transferred to plants and into the food chain.
3. The withdrawal of the license by the local panchayat. Despite this fact,
the secretary of the local administration has allowed the continuance of
the plant.

In light of the above, I urge you to:
1. Cancel the licenses given to Coca-Cola at Plachimada, in line with the
wishes of the local panchayat for their water resources and the Joint
Parliamentary Committee of the Government of India, which held the soft
drinks companies Coca-Cola and PepsiCo responsible for "causing pollution
of water, depleting ground water and reducing crop yields besides causing
ailments to human beings."
2. Give compensation to the villagers affected by the ground water
exploitation accordingly.

I would also ask you to review the health standards governing the sale and
use of Coca Cola and Pepsi Cola in Kerala, in light of the report by the
Joint Parliamentary Committee of the Government of India confirming that
such soft drinks contain high levels of pesticide residue.

Yours sincerely,