INTERVIEW Interview: Protesting Against Coca-Cola http://desicritics.org/2007/03/01/041612.php March 01, 2007 Jo
Robin is the coordinator of Keraleeyam magazine published from Thrissur. He took part in forming the Plachimada Protest Support Committee and now he is the convener of the Plachimada Study Committee. I wanted to know the truth behind the Plachimada anti-Coke protest in detail and wanted to know the motives behind the protest. This interview has cleared many of my concerns and I hope it does the same for the readers. Keraleeyam has been writing about the issue since 1998. [Special thanks to JK for helping me to prepare the questions] Q) Could you please explain about the anti-Coke protest in Plachimada? A) The Coca-Cola plant in Plachimada began their operations in the year of 2000 after they got permission during 1998-99. The anti-Coke feeling arose a little while after they began their functioning in March 2000, based on the experiences of the local people. At first, the water level in the wells increased. It happened because the Coke company disposed the waste water without proper treatment. Then many people were expecting jobs in the company, but they were being disappointed. Before the issue of over-exploitation of water came up, there was another problem of polluting the water. So the natives complained to the Panchayath member, political leaders, etc and they had organized rallies to the Panchayath office and meetings in front of the company gate. The protest officially began on April 2, 2002 inaugurated by C. K. Janu with Aadivaasi Samrakshana Samithi (Tribal Protection Committee) and Plachimada Coca-Cola Viruddha Samara Samithi (Anti-Coke Protest Committee). It was started with six organizations and later more organizations and political parties joined in this movement. Now there are around 100 different organizations involved in the protests. Q) I am asking this because you said Mayilamma and C. K. Janu (both belong to the Adivaasi-tribal community) were amongst the first few people who were involved in the early days of the movement, who are the real victims of the Coke exploitation? Only tribal people are affected? Do all the natives belong to the tribal community? A) Plachimada is situated in Perumaatti panchayath in the Chittoor taluk which is the most un-developed area of Palakkad district (in Kerala state). The 20-30% of their population consists of tribal communities, Dalits and other OBCs. The Coca-Cola factory is situated between two colonies that has tribal, Dalit and other communities (Vijaya Nagar colony and Plachimada colony) and where there are around 500 families living in a packed atmosphere. It is not right to say that the movement was begun by the late Mayilamma or C. K. Janu. It was the people living in these colonies who had to undergo many difficulties because of the Coke factory in the area. There were many such people who were active in the movement and late Mayilamma was just one of them. She was very active like the others who were involved, but since she has got a lot of media attention, her name came up to the front row. Although the movement was begun by these local people of the two colonies near the Coke factory, later it spread to the other areas and farmers. The farmers in Perumaatti panchayath are comparatively rich. They have 10 to 35 acres land each. Even they joined in the movement because the Coke factory has affected the agriculture sector. Q) How is the Plachimada anti-Coke movement different from other movements against the exploitation of natural resources? I haven't heard about any such movements in the recent past. Plachimada movement has received a lot of publicity through media. Is it because this movement is an anti-Cola or anti-America protest? A) Plachimada issue has been raised as a human rights issue. The Cola company was polluting the water and there was water scarcity due to the over exploitation of ground water; they also polluted the land by distributing dangerous chemical waste by saying it's fertilizer. Most importantly they ignored the natives' right to live with dignity in the name of a wrong development agenda. Even though the beginning of the movement included issues like polluting wells, or the water they need to cook was polluted or there were skin diseases etc, but now the Plachimada issue is not a ecological issue. It is now a protest against abusing the power, freedom and dignity of comparatively backward people in the society for a destructive development strategy or to help MNCs make huge profits. According to my limited knowledge, the Plachimada movement is of greater importance, not because of the unnecessary media attention it has got, but because it helped to make awareness among people that the citizens do not have control over the basic natural resources like water even in a literate state like Kerala. Also it has proved that there is no use of relying on the organized or mainstream political parties for justice. This is a movement by the socially backward people who do not have power, education, or culture (culture according to the social standards of our time) to gain control over the basic natural resources. Now it has been 5 years since the movement began. Q) What is the role of leftist or Communist parties in this movement? Considering the fact that the permission to setup the Coke factory was given during a communist government's rule in Kerala, the centrist people are deeply concerned about it. What do you have to say as a person who is actively involved in Plachimada? A) First of all, I am not actively involved in the protest but I am working on the studies related to the movement and on the media side. What I have observed is, the interest of left parties, including CPM, in this movement is for the public attention. Of course, there might be many people from the left parties who have an honest interest in the issue, but the left parties' take towards Plachimada movement has a lot of insincerity, deception and their disintegration is shown in this issue. The Coca-Cola company has mentioned that they were invited and given special consideration by the E. K. Nayanar ministry when Susheela Gopalan was the minister of industries to setup the factory in Plachimada. The left of then and now is guilty of allowing such a company that represents the Yankee development strategy to setup their factory in Chittoor Taluk which is a drought area for the past 30 years. And they have not been ready to admit their fault honestly. To explain further, the LDF government of the past 8 months has done nothing against Coke compared to what UDF has done in their 2000-2005 administration. But it should be said that Plachimada movement has received a lot of help from the left parties. They have organized a huge human chain from the Pepsi factory in Puthussery panchayath and Plachimada to the Palakkad Collectorate with the initiative of DYFI. Also they have helped with the publicity work, public meetings, media publicity, rallies etc. Q) But people are worried about their sincerity in this issue...? A) Even though there are many party members involved in this protest with utmost sincerity, we should identify the shameful stand of the leadership. For example, they published an executive order by the V S Achuthanandan government (based on the LDF demands) to ban Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. If we read that order we can understand that it was prepared without any common-sense or any proper knowledge of the law system in this country and it was done to indirectly help the Coca-Cola company. (This was done on the basis of 1954 Food & Adulteration Act). The order has not reached the offices of D.M.Os or food inspectors even after 2 months. This shows their level of sincerity towards this issue. As per our understanding, the health minister P. K. Sreemathy has not taken a keen interest in this issue because of the unknown reasons. Anyways, this order has only helped the Cola company to get an order from the court to continue with their production. The whole thing could help the CPM to have an international publicity as the news came out that "Communist Kerala banned Coca-cola". If the communists had the right intention, what they should have done is to pass a bill in the legislative assembly to protect the water resources, health and dignity and power of people and to prevent water pollution. But this was the least discussed issue in the assembly. There has not been any law passed on this direction after 2002. Puthussery panchayath, where the Pepsi company is located, is being ruled by CPM. There was a show cause notice given to the Pepsi company and the Pepsi-co has filed a case to block show cause notice and the panchayath has not done anything to vacate it for unknown reasons. Q) Is there any protest happening against the Pepsi company that you just mentioned? If yes, why doesn't it have the public attention that Plachimada has? A) Pepsi factory is located in Puthussery in the Palakkad-Coimbatore route. They exploit ground water in a larger level than Coca-Cola. (Coca-Cola consumes 7 to 15 lakh litres water and Pepsi takes 15 to 25 lakh litre water). The only time that the government could temporarily stop their production was during the drought season two years ago. What I feel is the left is trying to hide behind the court by accusing all of it on the court in many such protests and strikes. They haven't been ready to alter the Panchayath Raj Act to lift the limits of the power of Panchayaths as well. The anti-Pepsi protest is very active in the area. CPM is not much involved in there. But CPI has been there right from the beginning - be it the protest against Pepst or Coke. Pepsi company is situated in the Kanjikode industrial park. So obviously there are not many people living in the surrounding area. So there aren't any suffering victims. But it's coming up in the near future. What the left people like CPM is saying that the anti-Pepsi movement is not active because there are not people living in the surrounding area. It is an escape. It is to indirectly help such companies exist. Q) One of the major complaints is that water taken by Coke reduces the water available for farming. Among all districts in Kerala, from long time we know that Palakkad has drought season very often and there is always a shortage of water. So was it a good idea to start this plant in Palakkad? Was it a bad idea for the Communist Govt. to approve it? A) Of course. It's not only because of their lack of knowledge and attention in this matter. We can see an increased demand for development in Kerala after the 80s. We think we can partner with any evil company to have employment opportunities. But we do not see that we are achieving this by losing the agriculture jobs etc. The Coca-Cola Company employed only 150 people. And they have employed 100 people on temporary jobs for Rs. 45 to 85 per day. This is the so called 'employment opportunities' they have provided. (They say they have invested Rs. 100 crore in this plant). But at the same time, the agriculture sector in the area has worsened. Their agriculture production level has decreased. Most of the people living in the area are poor Tribal and Dalits who are into the agriculture sector. The reason that Coke chose this place to setup a plant was not only because there was a good amount of ground water, but it is also easier for them to transport their products to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. (The factory is near the Tamil Nadu border). Also they could get cheap labor by employing the nearby Tribal and Dalits. The main accusation against the left is they have not yet tried to correct the mistake they have done. Also the people of Kerala have not identified this. They would have approved such a protest if it happened near the Kerala secretariat in Trivandrum, or in a rich housing colony, or near an apartment complex in Ernakulam. But the present ignorance is because Plachimada issue happened in a place where poor and socially backward people are located. So everyone, particularly the left, had ignorance in this case. Q) As per a court order, the Coke plant was shutdown for almost a year and still there was water shortage in that area. So it seems Coke Plant is not to be blamed. A) What you raised is an important issue. The entire Palakkad district is a drought area. It has been officially declared as a drought affected district for 30 years. There are many companies in this district that use ground water, like alcoholic beverage companies, and there are factories (which have been blacklisted in Andhra, Tamil Nadu and North India) that use electricity as a raw material and employ people for cheap labour like in slavery of 18th century. They also cause the pollution of rivers and water. The Coca-Cola company has stopped working for more than 2 years now. The main reason behind this was not only the court order, but the government's interference to temporarily stop the functioning of the company and the pollution control board's order. When the panchayath renewed the license of the company, there were 13 to 30 conditions that the company should function without affecting the lives of the people living in the area. This is also a reason that the company has stopped working in the area. The previous court ruling was in favor of Coca-Cola. At first court ruled in support of the people, but then later declared that the company has the right to use water like any other citizen. The court has found out that there is enough ground water for the use of Coca-Cola and it won't affect the natives. This was based on a study conducted by a committee in the leadership of Dr. James, director of Center for Water Resources Development and Management under the control of Kerala government, who has done the biggest scientific cheating for Coca Cola. Palakkad is an agriculture area. The people in Plachimada are making a living out of this. But the CWRDM hasn't considered the water that people need for this. But CWRDM in the leadership of Dr. James has made sure that the Coca-Cola company can take water during any drought season. This is a good example to show how they can scientifically cheat a society, court and system. Coca-Cola company had been saying that they take only 5 to 8 lakh litres of water. But on the basis of reports from Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Central Government Water Department, Industrial Department etc, what we have understood is that they used to take 15-20 lakh litres of water per day and they had the license to take 15 lakh litres of water. Also they used to discard 7 to 8 lakh litre of water without proper treatment. But the Kerala State Pollution Control Board and Government haven't been ready to take actions on those who are guilty on this issue. We have noticed that the water pollution issue hasn't come with enough emphasis in the court proceedings. Coca-Cola is not solely responsible for the water shortage in Plachimada area. The weather, the ways of agriculture sector etc are also a factor. Almost 98% of the water available in Chittoor Taluk in Palakkad district is used for agriculture needs. So the water used for a living should not be considered or compared to the water used to reap huge profits. So Coca-Cola is guilty in any manner. When the area has water shortage, it shouldn't be allowed for the industrial use and to the MNCs to make huge profits. Coca-Cola should get only 6th or 7th place of consideration in this matter. But the sad thing is they are getting the first consideration when it comes to water. Q) An expert committee appointed by the high court of Kerala found that drawing 500,000 liters of groundwater (5% of the available water in the area) a day would not cause drought as claimed by protesters. Any comments? A) The CWRDM study on the issue has not been clear on the wells. They haven't studied all wells in the area and haven't considered the quality standards. They were asked to study not only about the level of water, but about the purity of the ground water. The main issue that Plachimada protesters had raised right from the beginning was that the company polluted their water and that company has to shut down, they should stop their activities that caused to pollute the water, there should be legal actions against the company etc. CWRDM was supposed to check the water levels as well as quality. But there has been no study about the quality of the water by the people whom you mentioned as 'experts'. In the report by Dr. James of CWRDM says, the ground water available in the Chittoor area is 66.7 MCM and the water usage for home needs is 62.5 MCM. So they proves that there will be 4.2 MCM as balance. But the people like Dr. Satish Chandran, Dr. M. K. Prasad and even the former directors of CWRDM have un-officially mentioned that this is a false finding. People like Sunita Narain of CSE have challenged this finding. There were strange things happening like there was no representatives of Panchayath in the committee while there were Coca-Cola representatives in the committee. Q) Is there any legal complaint against Dr. James' findings? A) Unfortunately, the Kerala community hasn't given much importance to the issue. There were some immediate emotional responses like a march to CWRDM office, burning the court order, high-court march, press releases etc. But to resist such actions or orders, we need new laws made. We have considered the false report made by CWRDM. We have not yet succeeded in this because of the lack of resources. But there are some studies going on that aspect. Two years passed. We have tried to include this issue in the current case which is in the supreme court now. So we are hopefully waiting. Q) According to the High Court of Kerala, any private person or company has the right to extract groundwater within reasonable limits.Coke has used water within this limit. So what is illegal regarding water usage here? A) Your question contains the limitations of existing laws and unawareness of the society. We can agree that the Coca-Cola company has not done anything wrong according to the ground water laws. It is because there have not been any appropriate laws in Kerala for the protection of ground water and to prevent the exploitation of ground water by industries. When there is no law, usually the court comes to protect the rights of the commons, not the corporate. Unfortunately the high court interfered to protect the company interests. It is a failure of the law and governing system we have here that there is no law to protect the ground water. The ground water should be kept as a safe deposit. Q) Let me come to the participation of left parties in this issue. The left is actively involved in the Plachimada protests. The very same left party (CPM) is starting a water theme park in Parassinikadavu which it is expected to guzzle millions of litres of water. Will you start protests there also? I am asking this for clarity on the issue. A) There are around twenty protests going on in Kerala against the pollution and over exploitation of the water and to protect the water resources. The water theme park issue is also coming in these protests. There is a protest in Thumpoli in Alappuzha against the coir factory that pollutes the water, another one in Vilappil Saala in Thiruvananthapuram against dumping the waste in the residing area of poor people and pollutes their wells, another one against polluting Pampa River in Sabarimala etc. The water theme park by the co-operative society of CPM shows the disintegration of the party and how much they have gone away from the people and how they have become the representatives of a wrong development policy. Just because Plachimada protest was initiated by the people of the place, it is not fair to ask them to take a lead in each and every protest that's happening in the world. This is a responsibility of the entire Kerala society, not only those who are involved with Plachimada protest. Also the initial phase of the protest had only the natives of Plachimada and it's mostly them who continue to be in the protest, there are many people and organizations from around the world involved in this now. Of course, there should be a chain that connects all such protests happening around the world. We need a globalization of protests. We should understand that water is not for gambling. Q) The two-member Bench of the Mumbai High Court, including the Chief Justice S. J. Vazifdar himself, mentioned in its order that the test reports of seven samples met both the Indian Standards and the European Economic Community's directive. The Central Science Laboratory, the UK's biggest lab, had certified that the products met the EU standards for individual pesticides in beverages after testing samples sent to them by another news publication, Outlook. A) I don't know about the test reports or the scientific/technical details that you mentioned. But as far as I know, the Outlook magazine itself had instructed a reporter and a lab for a test and they had found out that the water in the wells and in the area contains poisonous contents. They had published this report also. After that a spokesperson of Coca-Cola, he is a professor in Gorakhpur IIT, wrote a letter to Outlook regarding their report. As I understood, even though the reporter had given the reply to it, the Outlook magazine did not publish it. This stand of Outlook magazine is suspicious. The protest against Coca-Cola factory is not primarily about inside-the-bottle. Of course, It is an issue that affects those who drink Coca-Cola. Kerala is a not a huge market for Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is being widely rejected all over the world. We have no doubt that Coca-Cola is an unnecessary thing in the Kerala community, even if they produce it here according to the international standards. Even at the time when Coke and their supporters said that their products have good quality standards, the lab reports of CSE had found out that it's wrong. The state governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi etc have found out the same thing. So I doubt that Coca-Cola influenced the lab reports you mentioned. Q) Let's forget Coke for a moment. When we talk about the water pollution, our farmers use lot of pesticides now in agriculture and it is only natural that traces of it will be found in our food and water. Is it completely safe to drink water from the tap which more people drink than Coke? If not, why the social activists are being silent on such primary and important issue and concerned only about the issues involved with MNCs like Coke? A) Its a very challenging question that you asked. As fas as I know, the Kerala community or people in the world over have not shown enough protest against Coca-Cola. So there is no 'over-concern' about the Coca-Cola issue. The protest against Coca-Cola has many reasons. It is part of a fight against Globalization, American product, War, or the sufferings of local people (because of the Cola plants) etc. We do use a lot of fruits, vegetables and even medicines with the full awareness of its side effects. What differentiates this from Coca-Cola is, Coca-Cola is something that we don't need. We can live without drinking Coca-Cola. Those who cannot have satisfaction without it is a minority of rich. The majority of ordinary people can't live without eating food and drinking water. So it is not fair to compare the pesticides used in the agriculture sector with Coca-Cola. The second thing is, there are many people involved in the awareness against the pesticide usage etc in the agriculture sector. As you know, "Thanal" in Trivandrum is working on this for the past 20 years. They have succeeded in the fight against Endosulfan in the last year. Also the bio-agriculture is widely happening in Kerala state. Coca-Cola didn't come here to produce a primary need like medicine, but to gain huge profits. They are doing a corporate rape on the state. They are not giving much employment opportunities, development and not even any financial benefit to the state. Their activities are mysterious. [Here Mr. Robin also referred to the allegations of murder of employees that Coke has faced in the past.] Q) Can you tell us about the present condition of Plachimada? About the protest, court order and future plans? A) There was a court order in August that banned the Coca-Cola and Pepsi products in the market. In parallel, there is a case in Supreme Court about whether the Panchayath has the power to block the production of Coca-Cola and not to renew their license. The Pollution Control Board, Ground Water Department and Kerala Government is part of this. It is possible that this case will go on for 25 years. The state government's interest in this case is suspicious. The late Mayilamma, Swaami Nathan and Maariyappan of Aadivaasi Samrakshana Samithi have withdrawn from the protest on the basis of Cola ban order of LDF government. But they had mentioned that they would join back if Coca-Cola starts production again. At the same time, at least a few people have come to know that this could only help Coca-Cola and it has affected the protest. Perhaps it is because they couldn't be part of a protest for long for other reasons. However, the others are continuing with this protest. Thank you Robin for sparing time to talk to us about the Plachimada issue and the need of preserving ground water. Further Reading: Criticism of Coca-Cola (Wiki) Sludge at Coke factory is deadly How Coca-Cola gave to Plachimada The people of Plachimada Vs Coca-Cola Podcast of Interview (in Malayalam) An ordinary Mallu guy who hails from Thrissur, in Kerala state and he thinks there is no life without music. Founder of a global platform for amateur musicians called BlogSwara (www.blogswara.in) and M-Pod, the Malayalam Podcaster (www.mpod.in). He blogs at http://jocalling.blogspot.com and works as a web designer. March 01, 2007 Jo Robin is the coordinator of Keraleeyam magazine published from Thrissur. He took part in forming the Plachimada Protest Support Committee and now he is the convener of the Plachimada Study Committee. I wanted to know the truth behind the Plachimada anti-Coke protest in detail and wanted to know the motives behind the protest. This interview has cleared many of my concerns and I hope it does the same for the readers. Keraleeyam has been writing about the issue since 1998. [Special thanks to JK for helping me to prepare the questions] Q) Could you please explain about the anti-Coke protest in Plachimada? A) The Coca-Cola plant in Plachimada began their operations in the year of 2000 after they got permission during 1998-99. The anti-Coke feeling arose a little while after they began their functioning in March 2000, based on the experiences of the local people. At first, the water level in the wells increased. It happened because the Coke company disposed the waste water without proper treatment. Then many people were expecting jobs in the company, but they were being disappointed. Before the issue of over-exploitation of water came up, there was another problem of polluting the water. So the natives complained to the Panchayath member, political leaders, etc and they had organized rallies to the Panchayath office and meetings in front of the company gate. The protest officially began on April 2, 2002 inaugurated by C. K. Janu with Aadivaasi Samrakshana Samithi (Tribal Protection Committee) and Plachimada Coca-Cola Viruddha Samara Samithi (Anti-Coke Protest Committee). It was started with six organizations and later more organizations and political parties joined in this movement. Now there are around 100 different organizations involved in the protests. Q) I am asking this because you said Mayilamma and C. K. Janu (both belong to the Adivaasi-tribal community) were amongst the first few people who were involved in the early days of the movement, who are the real victims of the Coke exploitation? Only tribal people are affected? Do all the natives belong to the tribal community? A) Plachimada is situated in Perumaatti panchayath in the Chittoor taluk which is the most un-developed area of Palakkad district (in Kerala state). The 20-30% of their population consists of tribal communities, Dalits and other OBCs. The Coca-Cola factory is situated between two colonies that has tribal, Dalit and other communities (Vijaya Nagar colony and Plachimada colony) and where there are around 500 families living in a packed atmosphere. It is not right to say that the movement was begun by the late Mayilamma or C. K. Janu. It was the people living in these colonies who had to undergo many difficulties because of the Coke factory in the area. There were many such people who were active in the movement and late Mayilamma was just one of them. She was very active like the others who were involved, but since she has got a lot of media attention, her name came up to the front row. Although the movement was begun by these local people of the two colonies near the Coke factory, later it spread to the other areas and farmers. The farmers in Perumaatti panchayath are comparatively rich. They have 10 to 35 acres land each. Even they joined in the movement because the Coke factory has affected the agriculture sector. Q) How is the Plachimada anti-Coke movement different from other movements against the exploitation of natural resources? I haven't heard about any such movements in the recent past. Plachimada movement has received a lot of publicity through media. Is it because this movement is an anti-Cola or anti-America protest? A) Plachimada issue has been raised as a human rights issue. The Cola company was polluting the water and there was water scarcity due to the over exploitation of ground water; they also polluted the land by distributing dangerous chemical waste by saying it's fertilizer. Most importantly they ignored the natives' right to live with dignity in the name of a wrong development agenda. Even though the beginning of the movement included issues like polluting wells, or the water they need to cook was polluted or there were skin diseases etc, but now the Plachimada issue is not a ecological issue. It is now a protest against abusing the power, freedom and dignity of comparatively backward people in the society for a destructive development strategy or to help MNCs make huge profits. According to my limited knowledge, the Plachimada movement is of greater importance, not because of the unnecessary media attention it has got, but because it helped to make awareness among people that the citizens do not have control over the basic natural resources like water even in a literate state like Kerala. Also it has proved that there is no use of relying on the organized or mainstream political parties for justice. This is a movement by the socially backward people who do not have power, education, or culture (culture according to the social standards of our time) to gain control over the basic natural resources. Now it has been 5 years since the movement began. Q) What is the role of leftist or Communist parties in this movement? Considering the fact that the permission to setup the Coke factory was given during a communist government's rule in Kerala, the centrist people are deeply concerned about it. What do you have to say as a person who is actively involved in Plachimada? A) First of all, I am not actively involved in the protest but I am working on the studies related to the movement and on the media side. What I have observed is, the interest of left parties, including CPM, in this movement is for the public attention. Of course, there might be many people from the left parties who have an honest interest in the issue, but the left parties' take towards Plachimada movement has a lot of insincerity, deception and their disintegration is shown in this issue. The Coca-Cola company has mentioned that they were invited and given special consideration by the E. K. Nayanar ministry when Susheela Gopalan was the minister of industries to setup the factory in Plachimada. The left of then and now is guilty of allowing such a company that represents the Yankee development strategy to setup their factory in Chittoor Taluk which is a drought area for the past 30 years. And they have not been ready to admit their fault honestly. To explain further, the LDF government of the past 8 months has done nothing against Coke compared to what UDF has done in their 2000-2005 administration. But it should be said that Plachimada movement has received a lot of help from the left parties. They have organized a huge human chain from the Pepsi factory in Puthussery panchayath and Plachimada to the Palakkad Collectorate with the initiative of DYFI. Also they have helped with the publicity work, public meetings, media publicity, rallies etc. Q) But people are worried about their sincerity in this issue...? A) Even though there are many party members involved in this protest with utmost sincerity, we should identify the shameful stand of the leadership. For example, they published an executive order by the V S Achuthanandan government (based on the LDF demands) to ban Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. If we read that order we can understand that it was prepared without any common-sense or any proper knowledge of the law system in this country and it was done to indirectly help the Coca-Cola company. (This was done on the basis of 1954 Food & Adulteration Act). The order has not reached the offices of D.M.Os or food inspectors even after 2 months. This shows their level of sincerity towards this issue. As per our understanding, the health minister P. K. Sreemathy has not taken a keen interest in this issue because of the unknown reasons. Anyways, this order has only helped the Cola company to get an order from the court to continue with their production. The whole thing could help the CPM to have an international publicity as the news came out that "Communist Kerala banned Coca-cola". If the communists had the right intention, what they should have done is to pass a bill in the legislative assembly to protect the water resources, health and dignity and power of people and to prevent water pollution. But this was the least discussed issue in the assembly. There has not been any law passed on this direction after 2002. Puthussery panchayath, where the Pepsi company is located, is being ruled by CPM. There was a show cause notice given to the Pepsi company and the Pepsi-co has filed a case to block show cause notice and the panchayath has not done anything to vacate it for unknown reasons. Q) Is there any protest happening against the Pepsi company that you just mentioned? If yes, why doesn't it have the public attention that Plachimada has? A) Pepsi factory is located in Puthussery in the Palakkad-Coimbatore route. They exploit ground water in a larger level than Coca-Cola. (Coca-Cola consumes 7 to 15 lakh litres water and Pepsi takes 15 to 25 lakh litre water). The only time that the government could temporarily stop their production was during the drought season two years ago. What I feel is the left is trying to hide behind the court by accusing all of it on the court in many such protests and strikes. They haven't been ready to alter the Panchayath Raj Act to lift the limits of the power of Panchayaths as well. The anti-Pepsi protest is very active in the area. CPM is not much involved in there. But CPI has been there right from the beginning - be it the protest against Pepst or Coke. Pepsi company is situated in the Kanjikode industrial park. So obviously there are not many people living in the surrounding area. So there aren't any suffering victims. But it's coming up in the near future. What the left people like CPM is saying that the anti-Pepsi movement is not active because there are not people living in the surrounding area. It is an escape. It is to indirectly help such companies exist. Q) One of the major complaints is that water taken by Coke reduces the water available for farming. Among all districts in Kerala, from long time we know that Palakkad has drought season very often and there is always a shortage of water. So was it a good idea to start this plant in Palakkad? Was it a bad idea for the Communist Govt. to approve it? A) Of course. It's not only because of their lack of knowledge and attention in this matter. We can see an increased demand for development in Kerala after the 80s. We think we can partner with any evil company to have employment opportunities. But we do not see that we are achieving this by losing the agriculture jobs etc. The Coca-Cola Company employed only 150 people. And they have employed 100 people on temporary jobs for Rs. 45 to 85 per day. This is the so called 'employment opportunities' they have provided. (They say they have invested Rs. 100 crore in this plant). But at the same time, the agriculture sector in the area has worsened. Their agriculture production level has decreased. Most of the people living in the area are poor Tribal and Dalits who are into the agriculture sector. The reason that Coke chose this place to setup a plant was not only because there was a good amount of ground water, but it is also easier for them to transport their products to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. (The factory is near the Tamil Nadu border). Also they could get cheap labor by employing the nearby Tribal and Dalits. The main accusation against the left is they have not yet tried to correct the mistake they have done. Also the people of Kerala have not identified this. They would have approved such a protest if it happened near the Kerala secretariat in Trivandrum, or in a rich housing colony, or near an apartment complex in Ernakulam. But the present ignorance is because Plachimada issue happened in a place where poor and socially backward people are located. So everyone, particularly the left, had ignorance in this case. Q) As per a court order, the Coke plant was shutdown for almost a year and still there was water shortage in that area. So it seems Coke Plant is not to be blamed. A) What you raised is an important issue. The entire Palakkad district is a drought area. It has been officially declared as a drought affected district for 30 years. There are many companies in this district that use ground water, like alcoholic beverage companies, and there are factories (which have been blacklisted in Andhra, Tamil Nadu and North India) that use electricity as a raw material and employ people for cheap labour like in slavery of 18th century. They also cause the pollution of rivers and water. The Coca-Cola company has stopped working for more than 2 years now. The main reason behind this was not only the court order, but the government's interference to temporarily stop the functioning of the company and the pollution control board's order. When the panchayath renewed the license of the company, there were 13 to 30 conditions that the company should function without affecting the lives of the people living in the area. This is also a reason that the company has stopped working in the area. The previous court ruling was in favor of Coca-Cola. At first court ruled in support of the people, but then later declared that the company has the right to use water like any other citizen. The court has found out that there is enough ground water for the use of Coca-Cola and it won't affect the natives. This was based on a study conducted by a committee in the leadership of Dr. James, director of Center for Water Resources Development and Management under the control of Kerala government, who has done the biggest scientific cheating for Coca Cola. Palakkad is an agriculture area. The people in Plachimada are making a living out of this. But the CWRDM hasn't considered the water that people need for this. But CWRDM in the leadership of Dr. James has made sure that the Coca-Cola company can take water during any drought season. This is a good example to show how they can scientifically cheat a society, court and system. Coca-Cola company had been saying that they take only 5 to 8 lakh litres of water. But on the basis of reports from Kerala State Pollution Control Board, Central Government Water Department, Industrial Department etc, what we have understood is that they used to take 15-20 lakh litres of water per day and they had the license to take 15 lakh litres of water. Also they used to discard 7 to 8 lakh litre of water without proper treatment. But the Kerala State Pollution Control Board and Government haven't been ready to take actions on those who are guilty on this issue. We have noticed that the water pollution issue hasn't come with enough emphasis in the court proceedings. Coca-Cola is not solely responsible for the water shortage in Plachimada area. The weather, the ways of agriculture sector etc are also a factor. Almost 98% of the water available in Chittoor Taluk in Palakkad district is used for agriculture needs. So the water used for a living should not be considered or compared to the water used to reap huge profits. So Coca-Cola is guilty in any manner. When the area has water shortage, it shouldn't be allowed for the industrial use and to the MNCs to make huge profits. Coca-Cola should get only 6th or 7th place of consideration in this matter. But the sad thing is they are getting the first consideration when it comes to water. Q) An expert committee appointed by the high court of Kerala found that drawing 500,000 liters of groundwater (5% of the available water in the area) a day would not cause drought as claimed by protesters. Any comments? A) The CWRDM study on the issue has not been clear on the wells. They haven't studied all wells in the area and haven't considered the quality standards. They were asked to study not only about the level of water, but about the purity of the ground water. The main issue that Plachimada protesters had raised right from the beginning was that the company polluted their water and that company has to shut down, they should stop their activities that caused to pollute the water, there should be legal actions against the company etc. CWRDM was supposed to check the water levels as well as quality. But there has been no study about the quality of the water by the people whom you mentioned as 'experts'. In the report by Dr. James of CWRDM says, the ground water available in the Chittoor area is 66.7 MCM and the water usage for home needs is 62.5 MCM. So they proves that there will be 4.2 MCM as balance. But the people like Dr. Satish Chandran, Dr. M. K. Prasad and even the former directors of CWRDM have un-officially mentioned that this is a false finding. People like Sunita Narain of CSE have challenged this finding. There were strange things happening like there was no representatives of Panchayath in the committee while there were Coca-Cola representatives in the committee. Q) Is there any legal complaint against Dr. James' findings? A) Unfortunately, the Kerala community hasn't given much importance to the issue. There were some immediate emotional responses like a march to CWRDM office, burning the court order, high-court march, press releases etc. But to resist such actions or orders, we need new laws made. We have considered the false report made by CWRDM. We have not yet succeeded in this because of the lack of resources. But there are some studies going on that aspect. Two years passed. We have tried to include this issue in the current case which is in the supreme court now. So we are hopefully waiting. Q) According to the High Court of Kerala, any private person or company has the right to extract groundwater within reasonable limits.Coke has used water within this limit. So what is illegal regarding water usage here? A) Your question contains the limitations of existing laws and unawareness of the society. We can agree that the Coca-Cola company has not done anything wrong according to the ground water laws. It is because there have not been any appropriate laws in Kerala for the protection of ground water and to prevent the exploitation of ground water by industries. When there is no law, usually the court comes to protect the rights of the commons, not the corporate. Unfortunately the high court interfered to protect the company interests. It is a failure of the law and governing system we have here that there is no law to protect the ground water. The ground water should be kept as a safe deposit. Q) Let me come to the participation of left parties in this issue. The left is actively involved in the Plachimada protests. The very same left party (CPM) is starting a water theme park in Parassinikadavu which it is expected to guzzle millions of litres of water. Will you start protests there also? I am asking this for clarity on the issue. A) There are around twenty protests going on in Kerala against the pollution and over exploitation of the water and to protect the water resources. The water theme park issue is also coming in these protests. There is a protest in Thumpoli in Alappuzha against the coir factory that pollutes the water, another one in Vilappil Saala in Thiruvananthapuram against dumping the waste in the residing area of poor people and pollutes their wells, another one against polluting Pampa River in Sabarimala etc. The water theme park by the co-operative society of CPM shows the disintegration of the party and how much they have gone away from the people and how they have become the representatives of a wrong development policy. Just because Plachimada protest was initiated by the people of the place, it is not fair to ask them to take a lead in each and every protest that's happening in the world. This is a responsibility of the entire Kerala society, not only those who are involved with Plachimada protest. Also the initial phase of the protest had only the natives of Plachimada and it's mostly them who continue to be in the protest, there are many people and organizations from around the world involved in this now. Of course, there should be a chain that connects all such protests happening around the world. We need a globalization of protests. We should understand that water is not for gambling. Q) The two-member Bench of the Mumbai High Court, including the Chief Justice S. J. Vazifdar himself, mentioned in its order that the test reports of seven samples met both the Indian Standards and the European Economic Community's directive. The Central Science Laboratory, the UK's biggest lab, had certified that the products met the EU standards for individual pesticides in beverages after testing samples sent to them by another news publication, Outlook. A) I don't know about the test reports or the scientific/technical details that you mentioned. But as far as I know, the Outlook magazine itself had instructed a reporter and a lab for a test and they had found out that the water in the wells and in the area contains poisonous contents. They had published this report also. After that a spokesperson of Coca-Cola, he is a professor in Gorakhpur IIT, wrote a letter to Outlook regarding their report. As I understood, even though the reporter had given the reply to it, the Outlook magazine did not publish it. This stand of Outlook magazine is suspicious. The protest against Coca-Cola factory is not primarily about inside-the-bottle. Of course, It is an issue that affects those who drink Coca-Cola. Kerala is a not a huge market for Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola is being widely rejected all over the world. We have no doubt that Coca-Cola is an unnecessary thing in the Kerala community, even if they produce it here according to the international standards. Even at the time when Coke and their supporters said that their products have good quality standards, the lab reports of CSE had found out that it's wrong. The state governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi etc have found out the same thing. So I doubt that Coca-Cola influenced the lab reports you mentioned. Q) Let's forget Coke for a moment. When we talk about the water pollution, our farmers use lot of pesticides now in agriculture and it is only natural that traces of it will be found in our food and water. Is it completely safe to drink water from the tap which more people drink than Coke? If not, why the social activists are being silent on such primary and important issue and concerned only about the issues involved with MNCs like Coke? A) Its a very challenging question that you asked. As fas as I know, the Kerala community or people in the world over have not shown enough protest against Coca-Cola. So there is no 'over-concern' about the Coca-Cola issue. The protest against Coca-Cola has many reasons. It is part of a fight against Globalization, American product, War, or the sufferings of local people (because of the Cola plants) etc. We do use a lot of fruits, vegetables and even medicines with the full awareness of its side effects. What differentiates this from Coca-Cola is, Coca-Cola is something that we don't need. We can live without drinking Coca-Cola. Those who cannot have satisfaction without it is a minority of rich. The majority of ordinary people can't live without eating food and drinking water. So it is not fair to compare the pesticides used in the agriculture sector with Coca-Cola. The second thing is, there are many people involved in the awareness against the pesticide usage etc in the agriculture sector. As you know, "Thanal" in Trivandrum is working on this for the past 20 years. They have succeeded in the fight against Endosulfan in the last year. Also the bio-agriculture is widely happening in Kerala state. Coca-Cola didn't come here to produce a primary need like medicine, but to gain huge profits. They are doing a corporate rape on the state. They are not giving much employment opportunities, development and not even any financial benefit to the state. Their activities are mysterious. [Here Mr. Robin also referred to the allegations of murder of employees that Coke has faced in the past.] Q) Can you tell us about the present condition of Plachimada? About the protest, court order and future plans? A) There was a court order in August that banned the Coca-Cola and Pepsi products in the market. In parallel, there is a case in Supreme Court about whether the Panchayath has the power to block the production of Coca-Cola and not to renew their license. The Pollution Control Board, Ground Water Department and Kerala Government is part of this. It is possible that this case will go on for 25 years. The state government's interest in this case is suspicious. The late Mayilamma, Swaami Nathan and Maariyappan of Aadivaasi Samrakshana Samithi have withdrawn from the protest on the basis of Cola ban order of LDF government. But they had mentioned that they would join back if Coca-Cola starts production again. At the same time, at least a few people have come to know that this could only help Coca-Cola and it has affected the protest. Perhaps it is because they couldn't be part of a protest for long for other reasons. However, the others are continuing with this protest. Thank you Robin for sparing time to talk to us about the Plachimada issue and the need of preserving ground water. Further Reading: Criticism of Coca-Cola (Wiki) Sludge at Coke factory is deadly How Coca-Cola gave to Plachimada The people of Plachimada Vs Coca-Cola Podcast of Interview (in Malayalam) An ordinary Mallu guy who hails from Thrissur, in Kerala state and he thinks there is no life without music. Founder of a global platform for amateur musicians called BlogSwara (www.blogswara.in) and M-Pod, the Malayalam Podcaster (www.mpod.in). He blogs at http://jocalling.blogspot.com and works as a web designer. --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA) To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
