There has been increasing support of protests against the Colas in USA. In Europe, Coca-Cola's regional subsidiary 8.66 million euros for discriminating against retailers

The Mehdiganj dharna against the continued withdrawal of water by Coke continues past its 50th day even as the local administration has announced that water table has dropped past critical levels. On the other hand, Coca Cola company continues to spin as Times of India reports that Coke pays money to retailers to suppress reports of dirt and insects in the drinks.

People in Mehdiganj along with local groups including Lok Samiti led by Nandlal Master(r) continue their protests against the bottling plant .

With Magsasay awardee Rajendra Singh adding his voice to the protests against Pepsi and Coke and their exploitative water policies, the strike in Mehndiganj received another boost.

On the 4th anniversary of the Plachimada People�s Struggle, a community seminar including the adivasis of the affected areas came up with a water policy that would address the needs of people. Ajayan, the convener of Plachimada Solidarity Committee presents the resolution.

Coca Cola spends about 70% of its profits on media, image building and publicity. And yet, at the share holders meeting in Delaware, under pressure from a large number of global communities for its unethical practices, its wheels seemed to be coming off.

With the number of visitors dropping in to express solidarity with the Mehdiganj anti-Coke movement on hunger strike, the movement decided to have a special gathering on the 16th day of the strike.

After having argued that there was no people�s movement against Coke in Mehdiganj, it was ironic that Kalyan Ranjan, P. R. Manager of Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd., was quite eager to meet with the Mehdiganj community on the first day of their indefinite hunger strike on 23rd of March. But that was not the only irony

The local Mehdiganj community has called for a local protest against Coca Cola to begin on 23rd March.

Protesters want to do a plant visit, with police protection.

Communities around bottling plants are becoming increasingly affected by and reacting to unethical practices by Coke in India.

Coca Cola has been making claims that �their production process follows zero discharge� meaning that all their waste water was reused; �a rainwater harvesting system has been implemented that recharges ground water with more than what the company extracted� and that the waste is not hazardous. With the declaration of Perumatty Panchayat as a �notified area� by the government, once again it indicts Coca Cola for making patently false claims and promoting untruths.

Samalochana is organising a padayatra (march) urging people to stop consuming soft drinks and also mobilse peoples opinion against government accepting WTO norms in the wake of Hongkong conference in December2005.

Communities around India, most specifically in the vicinity of bottling plants, are using democratic processes through boycotts and campaigns to demand transparency of operations of Coca Cola and to demand that it stop operations if the company cannot end processes that are affecting lives and livelihoods of people in the vicinity of these plants.

Event updates from Sandeep Pandey’s US tour in 2005, describing talks, discussions, events, etc.
About Dr. Sandeep Pandey , Itinerary Details , Issues and Topics , Tour Updates

Dr Sandeep Pandey believes that empowerment of the poor is critical for development and for the functioning of democratic India. This process encompasses a wide variety of issues and while they are interconnected, we have highlighted some issues on which he will be speaking during the tour.

Martin Espada, who teaches poetry at the University of
Massachuesetts at Amherst and is the author of several books talks to CounterPunch about why he refused money from Coca Cola for his poetry reading at Kansas University.

An article in The Nation profiles a campaign that is growing rapidly in Universities across North America and even Europe demanding Coca Cola be held responsible for its human right violations.

Student groups across universities and college campuses in the USA and Europe are beginning to recognize the unethical actions of Coca Cola and passing resolutions to keep Coca Cola off their campuses.

Corporate Accountability International, along with numerous other local organizations cited Coke for its unethical practices in India

On the morning of 23rd November, 2004, at the city hall, Minneapolis, Corporate Accountability International (CAI) held a press conference highlighting the unethical behavior of the Atlanta based Coca Cola. It cited numerous instances where Coke has been draining out the water table in communities that are having trouble accessing clean drinking water.

In response to increasing demonstrations against Coca Cola, and specifically in response to march planned from November 15-24, 2004, the company put out advertisements in newspapers raising various questions.

“Kisanon ne machaya shor, Coca-cola paani chor, Doodh-dahi ke desh mein Pepsi-Coke nahin chalega.”

This is one of the slogans being used by people’s movements in Uttar Pradesh which are organizing a march and a rally to close down 2 Coca-Cola bottling plants in the state.

On June 25th, the meeting on South Asian Judicial Interaction on Environmental Justice and Equity ended with a key declaration that gives the judiciary of these South Asian nations the responsibility of protecting the biodiversity of this region and providing for environmental justice in the face of increasing environmental exploitation. What are the implications of this declaration?