By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan Saturday promised legal support to anti-Coke activists who for the last six years are protesting the alleged exploitation of water resources at the Coca-Cola plant in Palakkad district’s Plachimada village, about 400 km from here.
“The two groups of anti-Coke protesters, after a joint meeting with us, have agreed that they would call off their relay hunger strike launched in April after I assured them that my government would provide legal support in the cases that they have filed against Coca-Cola,” Achuthanandan told reporters here, after his meeting with the protesters.
The two groups currently involved in anti-Coke protests are the Plachimada Samara Ikyadarthiya Samithi (PSIS) and Plachimada Coca-Cola Virudha Samara Samithi (PCVSS).
Achuthanandan had called them for a discussion after they threatened to convert their relay hunger strike into an indefinite hunger strike.
There are four different cases these protesters are fighting against the soft drink giant in the Supreme Court.
The plant was closed down in 2004 following large-scale protests against the alleged misutilisation of natural resources like water by Coca-Cola in Plachimada.
In a judgement favourable to Coca-Cola in 2005, the Kerala High Court had ordered the reopening of the plant. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) had moved the Supreme Court against the order. The plant has not been opened so far.
On this issue, the chief minister said: “I assured them that the state government will ask the KSPCB to speed up the case they have filed against Coke.”
“Achuthanandan has agreed that his government will support us by hiring an expert advocate to appear for us in various cases,” said V. Venugopal, chairperson of PCVSS.
“Now we will return to Plachimada and discuss what needs to be done. In all probability, we will withdraw the ongoing relay hunger strike,” said N.P. Johnson, chairperson, PSIS.