Some Kerala traders to stop selling Coke & Pepsi

NEW DELHI: After Tamil Nadu, several traders in the state of Kerala have said they would stop sales of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo soft-drinks from March 14, seeking instead to promote local beverages in their stores.

The move follows a drought in Kerala, with traders backing the ban alleging that both multinational companies have been depleting the state’s water resources. Separately, the Kerala government said it plans to restrict the use of groundwater by PepsiCo at Palakkad.

“The government will take stern measures to restrict the usage of groundwater due to the prevailing drought and, if possible, stop PepsiCo from drawing it at its plant in Palakkad,” Minister for Water Resources Mathew T Thomas is learnt to have said at the state assembly on Wednesday.

“The company will have to reduce its water intake and the government would take all possible steps in this regard,” he added. The Kerala government had declared the state drought-hit late last year owing to deficiency in rainfall. Trade organisations in Tamil Nadu had stopped selling Coca-Cola and PepsiCo products starting March 1 on similar allegations of ground-water depletion.