PEOPLE OF INDIA ON LEGS: boycott Coca-Cola after they exhausted the water resources

Traders in India mass boycott of Coca-Cola after the food giant caught in emptying the already scarce water sources in the country that is threatened by drought,

More than one million merchants in India have vowed to boycott the producers of soft drinks such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi, and will replace them with domestic soft drinks."These foreign companies draw water from the scarce water resources of the state", said K Mohan, secretary "Vanigar Sangam", one of the organizations that support the boycott, writes TG.

Concerns about excessive water consumption by companies such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo rose after poor rainfall during the last monsoon.In January, the interim Minister O. Panneerselvam has declared a state of natural disaster and "drought" and asked the central government funds to help farmers.Vikram Raja, president of Vanigar Sangam, said: "Foreign companies exploiting the state water management bodies of water for the production of carbonated drinks, and farmers against severe drought."

Amit Srivastava, director of "India Resource Centre", estimated to need 1.9 liters of water to produce one small bottle of Coca-Cola. He says that the demand for sugar in the production of carbonated drinks also extremely problematic in India. "Sugar cane is a culture that leads to drying out of the country. This is the wrong crop for India, "he said.

"According to our research, Coca-Cola is the number one buyer of sugar cane in India, and Pepsi is number three. If we take into account the water used for sugarcane, we calculated that must spend 400 liters of water to produce a Coke bottle. "Indian Association for drinks (IBA), which represents many manufacturers of soft drinks, said she was disappointed boycott."Coca-Cola and PepsiCo India together directly employ 2,000 families and more than 5,000 families indirectly ... IBA hopes that common sense will prevail and that consumers continue to have the right to his choice in India," they said.

Pepsi and Coca-Cola did not directly comment on the boycott.

The movement of anti-carbonated drinks movement in India gained strength in January.

Protests have offered many citizens the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the public and establish a boycott of carbonated drinks after farmers complained that large companies use precious water resources in a country that before drying.Vikram Raja said that the demand for soft drinks dropped significantly since the beginning of the year, and many dealers who were not part of the company voluntarily stopped selling foreign brands.

The boycott may be just the beginning of the end of the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo while they are trying to expand in India. The Indian government has given an indication for the introduction of tax on sugary beverages, which could further hit the profit figures and earnings of these companies.

• 8 Mar, 2017
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