The Chharba village panchayat had passed a resolution declaring it won't allow the set-up of the Coke bottling plant

Amid heightened environmental concerns over the proposed Coke plant at Chharba, near here, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna on Wednesday said the bottling facility would be equipped with all the safeguards. "We understand that there are some environmental concerns regarding the proposed Coca-Cola plant. But I want to make clear the proposed plant will be equipped with all environmental safeguards," said Bahuguna.

The village panchayat of Chharba, where the cola major plans to set up its Rs 600-cr bottling plant, passes resolution on not to allow the proposed project to come up

Chharba-Langha Road, 30 km from Dehradun city, is a green industrial belt. This patch on the western fringes of the Doon Valley is also known for its lush green khair and sheesham trees. In many ways, the area is an example of sustainable development, where over 50 Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) exist in harmony with nature.

A memorandum of understanding signed between multinational beverage giant Coca Cola and Uttarakhand government to set up a Rs 600 crore bottling plant in the district has triggered protests by envi

Navdanya, the People’s Science Institute and the Friends of Doon — all local environment protection groups — have urged Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna to immediately cancel the memorandum of understanding signed with Coca-Cola that plans to set up a unit in Vikas Nagar area near here.

“We will never allow Coca-Cola to set up its plant in the ecologically sensitive Doon Valley as the plant, besides stealing our water, will pollute the groundwater with highly dangerous chemicals and metals causing untold misery to the local community and convert the neighbouring agricultural lands into wastelands,” said Vandana Shiva of Navdanya.

Proposed plant plans to use water from the Yamuna river, which also provides water to five hydel power projects in Uttarakhand.

Aaron D’Souza, a Coca-Cola bottler, was on a different errand.

Coca-Cola became one of the world's most powerful brands by equating its soft drinks with happiness. Now, for the first time, it's addressing a growing cloud over the industry: obesity. The US-based company on Monday will begin airing a twominute ad during the highestrated shows on CNN, Fox News and MSNBC in hopes of becoming a stronger voice in the debate over sodas and their impact on public health. The ad lays out Coca-Cola's record of providing drinks with fewer calories over the years and notes that weight gain is the result of consuming too many calories of any kind — not just soda.

About a dozen companies are contributing to a novel conservation plan that pays Ecuador to protect part of the Amazon rainforest in return for barring oil drilling, the head of the initiative said

It might be a good idea to talk to consumers when a crisis blows up