from their perspective...by nandoah nguyen
The farmers has limited amount of water and their fertilizer had high toxins in the water due to the pollution. The Coca-Cola Company is getting away all the water from the farmers. In Mehdiganj's struggle water mining and pollution dumping practices of an Indian subsidiary of the Coca Cola Company (Drew, 1). The farmers don’t have enough water either to grow crops. “Coca-Cola has been distributing solid waste to farmers in two communities, Plachimada and Mehdiganj, as ‘fertilizer’. Tests conducted by the BBC found cadmium and (Healy, 2013) (Shanker, 2010) (Ruscavage, 2006) (Aiyer, 2007) (Jonathan, 2005) (Drew, 2008) lead in the waste, effectively making it toxic waste. Coca-Cola stopped the practice of distributing its toxic waste only when ordered to do so by the state government. Products contained pesticides. Tests conducted by a variety of agencies, including the government of India, found Coca-Cola products contained high levels of pesticides”(Hills, 2).
The farmers don’t want to move the land that was owned by India’s reserves of iron ore, a material to make steel (Shanker,1). It was hard to keep the water in the wells. The limited amount of water led to dry soil which leads the company to shut down $25 million plants. It was nearly impossible to grow and the farmers were losing their jobs.
The only water that they can get is from rain. According to Ruscavage-Barz “ Courts are split on whether tribes have a groundwater right under the Winters Doctrine and also whether Winters rights encompass a right to a certain water quality standard. Winters rights probably are protected against impairment of water quality as well as diminutions in quantity because it is difficult to draw a meaningful distinction between quantity and quality of water for purposes of the Winters doctrine”(2). The water was being polluted. Coke companies were located in India at this time. The farmers choose to stay instead of leaving.
“Coca-Cola has been discharging its waste water into the fields around its plants and sometimes into rivers, including the Ganges, in surrounding areas. The result has been that groundwater and soil has been polluted. Public health authorities have posted signs around wells and hand pumps advising the community that the water is unfit for human consumption” (Hills, 2). The quote says that the farmers are in high risk for health issues because they just get water from anywhere that they can find.
Aiyer, A. (2007). The allure of the transnational. Notes on Some Aspects pf Political Economy of Water in India, 1-19.
Drew, G. (2008). From the Groundwater Up. Asserting water rights in India, 1-5.
Healy, J. (2013). New York Times. Water Rights Tear at an Indian Reservation, 1.
Jonathan, H. (2005). Case Study. Coca-Cola and water in India, 10.
Ruscavage, S. (2006). albertlaw. Indiam Reservered water rights, 1-4.
Shanker, A. (2010). Bloomberg. Indian Farmers Fight Billionaire Mittal, Posco for Water Rights, 1-2.
The farmers don’t want to move the land that was owned by India’s reserves of iron ore, a material to make steel (Shanker,1). It was hard to keep the water in the wells. The limited amount of water led to dry soil which leads the company to shut down $25 million plants. It was nearly impossible to grow and the farmers were losing their jobs.
The only water that they can get is from rain. According to Ruscavage-Barz “ Courts are split on whether tribes have a groundwater right under the Winters Doctrine and also whether Winters rights encompass a right to a certain water quality standard. Winters rights probably are protected against impairment of water quality as well as diminutions in quantity because it is difficult to draw a meaningful distinction between quantity and quality of water for purposes of the Winters doctrine”(2). The water was being polluted. Coke companies were located in India at this time. The farmers choose to stay instead of leaving.
“Coca-Cola has been discharging its waste water into the fields around its plants and sometimes into rivers, including the Ganges, in surrounding areas. The result has been that groundwater and soil has been polluted. Public health authorities have posted signs around wells and hand pumps advising the community that the water is unfit for human consumption” (Hills, 2). The quote says that the farmers are in high risk for health issues because they just get water from anywhere that they can find.
Aiyer, A. (2007). The allure of the transnational. Notes on Some Aspects pf Political Economy of Water in India, 1-19.
Drew, G. (2008). From the Groundwater Up. Asserting water rights in India, 1-5.
Healy, J. (2013). New York Times. Water Rights Tear at an Indian Reservation, 1.
Jonathan, H. (2005). Case Study. Coca-Cola and water in India, 10.
Ruscavage, S. (2006). albertlaw. Indiam Reservered water rights, 1-4.
Shanker, A. (2010). Bloomberg. Indian Farmers Fight Billionaire Mittal, Posco for Water Rights, 1-2.