from their perspective...by mandy lehman
As the WaterAid organization we are dedicated to providing basic human rights to people around the world. Water is one of those rights. Access to clean and safe water is essential to life. We work to provide sanitation and appropriate water amounts to people who do not have adequate access to these luxuries. We have been working in India specifically since 1986 to advance Indian governmental involvement in the crisis and help to provide more water to the domestic sector rather than the agricultural and industrial sectors. Coca-Cola and other corporations like Pepsi-Co, have been taking advantage of the low regulations and cost of water extraction in India. Since privatization of water is encouraged and very cheap in the country, companies have bought and used up much of the water for little to no cost.
In 2002 Coca-Cola flooded acres of agricultural land around Mehdiganj, a rural village that they had built a plant near in 1999, and despite the fact that they were forced to clean up the area farmers and local citizens stilled feared their land was contaminated by the sludge (Drew). Not to mention that bottling plants in India practice very unsustainable water mining methods. In fact both the agricultural and industrial sectors follow similar water mining protocols which could explain why they are using up 95% of India’s annual groundwater resources (Khurana and Sen). We believe that this over indulgence of the water is unethical, and are we are working with the government to end this problem.
By increasing sanitation and water awareness/regulations the problem of distribution and shortage can and will be solved. The 29 year old activist from California Amit Stravatsava has been targeting the Coca-Cola company directly by talking at Universities and spreading awareness of the water distribution problems being seen in places such as India. Many Universities have taken notice and ended their contracts with Coke to get their attention and it has worked. The Coca-Cola company has already begun to increase their global image on the matter by more tightly regulating chemical contents and disposal of waste, and by providing more benefits to the affected locals. There have also been many local uprisings against the plants in India. Two notable protests took place in Planchimada and Mehdiganj one (Planchimada) even resulted in the closing of the said Coca-Cola plant. But, Coca-Cola is only in India because of the cheap land and water it can procure. These companies are allowed and almost encouraged to take as much water as they desire. In turn the governments make more money and they don’t need to worry about the official distribution of water because it is taken care of.
To make sure that access to clean and safe water is not denied any Indian citizens, we have been working with the many levels of Indian government to increase sanitation practices and availability of water. By doing this and putting more pressure on the government to step up and act on the current water crisis India can become a self sustaining country that supplies basic needs to all its people. And, if the government helps the industrial/agricultural sectors to become more efficient in their business practices they won’t need to take that big of a hit when it comes to water usage.
Bibliography
Aiyer, Ananthakrishnan. "The Allure of the Transnational: Notes on Some Aspects of the Political
Economy of Water in India." Cultural Anthropology (2008).
Burnett, Margaret and Richard Welford. "Case Study: Coca-Cola and Water in India: Episode 2."
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (2007): 298–304.
Drew, Georgina. "From the Groundwater Up: Asserting water rights in India." Development
(2008): 37–41.
Khurana, Indura and Romit Sen. "WaterAid." n.d. April 2013.
Raman, K. Ravi. "Transverse Solidarity: Water, Power, and Resistance." Review of Radical Political Economics (2010).
Roy, Deya. "Negotiating marginalities: right to water in Delhi." Urban Water Journal (2012):
97-104.
Sampath , Anitha, et al. "Water Privatization and Implications in India." Austin: Association for
India’s Development, n.d.
Stecklow, Steve. "How a Global Web of Activists Gives Coke Problems in India." The Wall Street
Journal 7 June 2005: A1. Newspaper.
The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company. 29 April 2013. Article. April 2013.
The Rights to Water and Sanitation. n.d. April 2013.
WaterAid Global. n.d. April 2013.
In 2002 Coca-Cola flooded acres of agricultural land around Mehdiganj, a rural village that they had built a plant near in 1999, and despite the fact that they were forced to clean up the area farmers and local citizens stilled feared their land was contaminated by the sludge (Drew). Not to mention that bottling plants in India practice very unsustainable water mining methods. In fact both the agricultural and industrial sectors follow similar water mining protocols which could explain why they are using up 95% of India’s annual groundwater resources (Khurana and Sen). We believe that this over indulgence of the water is unethical, and are we are working with the government to end this problem.
By increasing sanitation and water awareness/regulations the problem of distribution and shortage can and will be solved. The 29 year old activist from California Amit Stravatsava has been targeting the Coca-Cola company directly by talking at Universities and spreading awareness of the water distribution problems being seen in places such as India. Many Universities have taken notice and ended their contracts with Coke to get their attention and it has worked. The Coca-Cola company has already begun to increase their global image on the matter by more tightly regulating chemical contents and disposal of waste, and by providing more benefits to the affected locals. There have also been many local uprisings against the plants in India. Two notable protests took place in Planchimada and Mehdiganj one (Planchimada) even resulted in the closing of the said Coca-Cola plant. But, Coca-Cola is only in India because of the cheap land and water it can procure. These companies are allowed and almost encouraged to take as much water as they desire. In turn the governments make more money and they don’t need to worry about the official distribution of water because it is taken care of.
To make sure that access to clean and safe water is not denied any Indian citizens, we have been working with the many levels of Indian government to increase sanitation practices and availability of water. By doing this and putting more pressure on the government to step up and act on the current water crisis India can become a self sustaining country that supplies basic needs to all its people. And, if the government helps the industrial/agricultural sectors to become more efficient in their business practices they won’t need to take that big of a hit when it comes to water usage.
Bibliography
Aiyer, Ananthakrishnan. "The Allure of the Transnational: Notes on Some Aspects of the Political
Economy of Water in India." Cultural Anthropology (2008).
Burnett, Margaret and Richard Welford. "Case Study: Coca-Cola and Water in India: Episode 2."
Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management (2007): 298–304.
Drew, Georgina. "From the Groundwater Up: Asserting water rights in India." Development
(2008): 37–41.
Khurana, Indura and Romit Sen. "WaterAid." n.d. April 2013.
Raman, K. Ravi. "Transverse Solidarity: Water, Power, and Resistance." Review of Radical Political Economics (2010).
Roy, Deya. "Negotiating marginalities: right to water in Delhi." Urban Water Journal (2012):
97-104.
Sampath , Anitha, et al. "Water Privatization and Implications in India." Austin: Association for
India’s Development, n.d.
Stecklow, Steve. "How a Global Web of Activists Gives Coke Problems in India." The Wall Street
Journal 7 June 2005: A1. Newspaper.
The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola Company. 29 April 2013. Article. April 2013.
The Rights to Water and Sanitation. n.d. April 2013.
WaterAid Global. n.d. April 2013.