Is distillery row brewing into yet another anti Coca-Cola plant model mass stir in Kerala?

Kerala is all likely to witness yet another Plachimada model mass stir against the Coca-Cola plant in Palakkad during early 2000s.

Thiruvananthapuram: With the Kerala government remaining firm on its decision to go ahead with the proposed distillery-brewery project by a private party at Elappully panchayat in Palakkad district and the local people determined to oppose it expressing concerns over ground water exploitation, Kerala is all likely to witness yet another Plachimada model mass stir against Coca-Cola plant at Plachimada in Palakkad during early 2000s.

Elappully, where the distillery project is proposed by Oasis Commercial, is around 20 kilometres from Plachimada in Perumatty panchayat. The bitter experience of the people of Plachimada owing to the ground water exploitation by the Coca-Cola plant seems to be a triggering factor for the  concerns of the people of Elappully. 

Even as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, leadership of the ruling CPI(M) as well as the company officials are trying to convince the people that ground water from the region will not be used for the proposed plant, but water from other sources like rain water harvesting would be used, the opposition party Congress, the local panchayat authorities and local people are not convinced.

"We will oppose the plant at any cost to save the region from ground water exploitation," Elappully panchayat president Revathi Babu told DH.

The proposed plant requires 50,000 litre water daily in the initial phase and up to 5 lakh litres when fully commissioned. It is not practical to get this much water from rain water harvesting or other means. Hence the plant poses serious threats of ground water exploitation, she said.

It was in 2000 that a plant of Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages was started at Plachimada. Spread over around 35 acres of land, the plant was reported to be using up to 1.5 million litre ground water daily.

The resentment of the local people, mostly farmers and tribal community members, against ground water exploitation by the plant intensified by 2002 as ground water level in nearby wells dropped drastically and ground water was also contaminating. There were also allegations that the sludge from the plant provided to farmers as manure had also affected the farms. 

As the protest mounted and grabbed international attention with renowned environmentalists expressing solidarity with it, the plant stopped operations by 2004. Though a government appointed committee had estimated the damage caused to the local people at Rs. 216 crore, it is yet to be paid. Hence the stir is still going on.

Convener of the Plachimada solidarity committee R Ajayan said that both Plachimada and Elappully were under the Chittur block.

In 2002 itself the Kerala State groundwater department and Central Ground Water Board did joint studies and found that the block is an overexploited area. Now the situation could have become worse only. Hope the state government will take a final call on allowing the distillery only after considering all these aspects," he said.