Coca-Cola Liable for Millions in Damages From Bottling Operation?

by Tara Lohan · 2010-04-02 07:32:00 UTC
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Coke bottleA committee put together by the government in the Indian state of Kerala has recommended that beverage giant Coca-Cola be liable for $48 million to pay for damages wrought by the corporation's bottling operations in the town of Plachimada, India Resource Center reports.

Activists have been protesting Coke's operations in Plachimada for years and successfully forced the bottling plant to shut down six years ago. A 2005 story in Counter Punch by Alexander Cockburn explained how Coke picked the town, apparently after identifying vast groundwater reserves via satellite surveys.

Cockburn reported that villagers saw big drops in their water levels within six months after Coca-Cola began water mining. Some complained of water sources going dry or drawing water that was poor in quality and led to diarrhea, dizziness and rashes. Protests began in 2002 and the company's license was rescinded in 2003, four days before the local medical officer declared that well water there was not safe to drink.

The price tag included damages for contaminated water and soil resulting from the bottling operation and damages to health, agriculture, wages, and loss of educational opportunities, IRC reports; it does not include damages resulting from water depletion, which are still apparently being assessed.

This may be welcome news to residents and activists who have been voicing their condemnation of Coca-Cola's operations, but the committee's ruling is a recommendation to the state government and is not legally binding. Where this goes from here is yet to be seen.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in Coca-Cola's hometown reports that the company disputes the committee's recommendation and insists that its operations drew from a deep aquifer and not the water source that the community used.

Photo credit: Erik Pitti

Tara Lohan is a senior editor at AlterNet.org where she heads up the environment, water, and food sections. Her work has appeared on the websites of The Nation, Mother Jones, the Huffington Post and in Yes! Magazine.
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