KALA DERA: Residents living around Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Kala Dera, near Jaipur in Rajasthan, India marched and rallied demanding the closure of the bottling plant.
Nearly 60 villages surrounding Coca-Cola's bottling plant in Kala Dera have complained of severe water shortages since the bottling plant began operations in the area.
The Central Ground Water Board of India declared the groundwater resources in Kala Dera area as "overexploited" in 1998, two years prior to Coca-Cola's decision to locate its bottling plant and begin operations.
"Why did Coca-Cola begin its operations in Kala Dera when the government had already confirmed that the communities are experiencing water shortages?," asked Rameshwar Kudi, a community leader with the Kala Dera Jan Sangharsh Samiti who has been leading the community campaign against Coca-Cola.
Government records have also confirmed that the groundwater levels in Kala Dera have fallen nearly 10 meters in just the first four years of Coca-Cola's operations.
A sustained international campaign against Coca-Cola forced the company to agree to an independent assessment of its bottling operations in India.
The assessment, conducted by Coca-Cola's ally in India, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), looked at six bottling plants in 2007, including Kala Dera and confirmed the concerns of the community.
In a damning indictment of Coca-Cola's operations in Kala Dera and India, the TERI assessment concluded that the Coca-Cola company operated on a principle dedicated just to "business continuity", and community water issues had been completely neglected.
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