Pepsi: Indians protest against soft drink companies

Activists in India have held nationwide protests against multinational soft drink companies Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Reports said thousands of protesters had gathered near manufacturing plants of the two firms and demanded that they stop production.

Activists want the firms to leave India because they say their plants deplete ground water – claims the soft drinks giants both strenuously deny.

Spokesmen for the two firms dismissed the protests as low-key.

The demonstrations across India were organised by the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE).

Its representatives said that at least 100,000 people participated in the campaign and formed human chains to protest against the drinks giants.

Organisers said “Quit India” notices had been handed in at 45 plants.

“The factories must close down as they are not only guilty of uncertain standards in their drinks, but they are also depleting groundwater,” one protester, Vinay Sagar, told the AFP news agency.

Coca-Cola and Pepsi account for more than 90% of the carbonated drinks market in India and together sell more than 500 million bottles every year.

Spokesmen for the two firms said only a handful of people had gathered at some of their plants.