As you read this, a rather unlikely march is taking place from Ballia to Varanasi in eastern India.
Among the marchers is an American who has traveled all the way from Minneapolis to the badlands of Uttar Pradesh to participate.
The cause: to try and prevent global corporate giant Coca-Cola, poster-child for American consumerism and favorite whipping boy of progressive social activists, from abusing precious water resources in that part of the world.
On November 23, several hundreds, likely higher, people will add their voices to the march when they participate in a day-long call-in to Coca Cola headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, to protest Coke's water abuse practices at its bottling plants in Ballia and Varanasi.
'Stop cos from exploiting water!'
Jim Fassett-Carmen has taken off to join hands with Bobby Ramakant-- a Lucknow-based activist with the US- and India-based non-profit Asha for Education -- who is at the forefront of the march.
A core group of 60 people will cover the 240 km march, spearheaded by the Indian National Alliance for People's Movement. People from various villages and towns along the route are expected to join in before it concludes in front of the bottling facility in Varanasi November 24.
Soft drinks, hard truths: The cola row
"We are calling for the closure of these bottling facilities," says Patti Lynn, Executive Director at the Boston-based Corporate Accountability International.
"We are challenging Coke's abusive practices and the depletion of good water resources by its bottling facilities in India, and the call-in is a way to directly challenge Coke.
"But the most abuses are happening in two other cities, Mehdiganj in Uttar Pradesh and Plachimada in Karnataka and we are pushing for the closure of those plants," Lynn says.
"We also want Coke to pay the people there for the damages it has inflicted."
CAI was founded in 1977 as part of a campaign to boycott Nestle products until it changed its marketing practices for baby formula.
Since that successful program, CAI has also been involved in battles with the tobacco industry and also again GE's role in producing nuclear weapons. GE has since withdrawn itself completely from that business.
Lynn and her colleagues are tying up with various groups here in the US to reach out to as many people as possible, as well as to campuses, for the call-in. The call-in is being coordinated in seven states.
(For details about call-in, go to: http://www.stopcorporateabusenow.org/campaign/200411cokeaction)
