Further details- Coca-Cola sludge

This is the text of a draft letter to the Indian Government.
It describes the Coca-Cola sludge issue.

23rd June, 2002



Shri C. K. Antony

Chief Minister

Government of Kerala

Secretariat

Thiruvananthapuram



Re: Hardships caused to the local community in Plachimada, Palakkad due to
the bottling plant of Coca Cola and in Kanjikode Industrial area due to that
of Pepsi



Dear Shri Antony,



You may be aware that the Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd had
established a bottling unit in 1998-99 in a 40 acre plot (previously
multi-cropped paddy lands) at Plachimada of Perumatty Panchayat in Chittur
Taluk of Palakkad District, Kerala. On an average about 85 lorry loads of
beverage products each load containing 550-600 cases and each case
containing 24 300 ml bottles leave the factory premises every day. Sixty
borewells (besides 2 open wells) are sunk in the factory compound extracting
some 15,00,000 litres of water. The site is located a few meters away from
the main irrigation canal from the Moolathara barrage. The INTACH
investigation (the report of which has been submitted to the state
government) has found that water is being pumped from this canal. Of the 40
acre plot, the plant building is located on a two acre plot that has not
been cleared under the kerala Land Utilisation Act. As a result, the
building does not have a Panchayat or a Register number and hence there is
no electricity connection given by KSEB to this plant. However, the plant is
solely being run by huge generators. The law prohibits a factory from
operating for 24 hours continuously on generators alone. Bottle washing that
involves the use of chemicals, the sludge from the plant mainly from the
products brought to the factory site after the expiry date have expired etc
are carried out. The plant generates 38 load waste on a daily basis. While
earlier the foul smelling dry sedimented slurry waste was "sold" as
fertilizer to the unsuspecting farmers which was later given "free" and now
with protests and objections surreptitiously dumped on the way side and on
lands at night even going beyond the state boundary into the villages of
adjoining Pollachi Taluk of Coimbatore District of Tamilnadu. Observers from
the surrounding areas state that 36 truck loads each containing six 200
litre barrels of sludge waste come out of the factory daily. The ground
water and hence water from the open wells have rapidly depleted in this
perennially rich paddy growing belt (paddy is abandoned now with the mostly
landless Adivasis loosing their jobs also). The water turns turbid or milky
on boiling and is unfit for drinking, bathing and washing clothes etc.
Already over 1000 families have been affected in the surrounding villages
within a radius of 5 kms, of which a quarter are Adivasis and the rest
Dalits and other non-Adivasis. The villages severely affected are the
'colonies' of Adivasis and Dalits such as Plachimada, Vijayanagaram, Veloor
and Madhavan Nair colonies in the Perumatty Panchayat and the Rajeev Nagar
and Thodichipathy colonies in the Pattanamchery Panchayat facing acute water
shortage and contaminated water. Most of the plant workers handling the
waste have become victims of skin diseases. Tests conducted on the effluent
water released by the plant show that it contains high concentrations of
Calcium and Magnesium.



The struggle against the Plachimada Plant of Coca Cola was launched on 22
April 2002 with a symbolic blockade and an ongoing continuous
picketing/dharna by mainly the Adivasis, particularly by women and children,
belonging to the Eravalar and Malasar communities classified by the
government as Primitive Tribes. The local or state govt authorities have not
bothered to take heed of these agitations. And instead massive police
protection has been provided to the Company property. Peaceful agitations
held on June 9th have witnessed police atrocities on a large scale on the
protestors mainly targeting women, children and outside supporters. About
130 protesters were arrested of whom 30 were women and nine were children,
mostly babies, at around 5 pm and taken to the Chittoor Police Station.
Blouses of five Adivasi women were torn and some senior officials were
particularly keen to abuse and threaten the protesters with further physical
attack. Incidentally the arrested included all those who had come to
participate in the struggle from elsewhere to extend their solidarity which
included environmental activists, struggle groups fighting industrial
pollution elsewhere in the state.



This is an utterly shameful act and we express our strongest outrage
against the mass arrest and the police action and brutalities. We hope that
your government will withdraw all false cases against the peaceful
protesters and demand that the company compensates all those who have been
adversely affected by their bottling unit.



At the same time, we have information that a similar bottling unit of
Pepsi in Kanjikode Industrial Area of Palakkad District has also caused
drinking water scarcity in the neighbouring areas. This is due to more than
20 bore-wells being sunk within their premise and sucking up 10 lakh litres
of water everyday. Their effluent pipeline drains into Velanthavalam river
which is the source of Bharatapuzha, a major lifeline of North Kerala and is
contributing to the pollution of this major drinking water source for 30
village panchayats downstream.



That such plants are coming up and causing irrevocable damage to a state
known for its natural beauty should be a matter of grave concern to your
government. We urge you to take the following steps immediately:

1) Conduct investigations against both the companies and close the
plants till investigations are complete

2) Take corrective steps for the waterbodies and lands polluted, at
the cost of
the companies

3) Prosecute those responsible under relevant pollution and
environmental laws including penalising them to pay for the costs of the
clean-up and compensation
to affected families

4) Demand written assurances from the companies that they will comply
with environmental  laws and respect the interests and rights of local
residents; and

5) Prosecute the officials who have been turning a blind eye to the
illegal and destructive activities of the companies.



We hope that you will take serious note of the fact that the Adivasi
agitation has been going on for the past two months demanding for justice
and the basic requirement for survival -  which is good, clean drinking
water.



Yours sincerely,