Jaipur, September 04, 2023.
Coca-Cola in India through its global and local Foundationhas touched the lives of more than 10 lakh people in India. With over 150+ community water conservation projects implemented, over 750+ villages across 18 states in the country have benefitted from the initiative. Today, the Company has replenished 100% of the water used in its operations in India.
Groundwater in India is a critical resource. We are the largest consumer of Ground water. More than 60% of irrigated agriculture and 85% of drinking water supplies are dependent on groundwater.
As a result, increasing number of aquifers are reaching unsustainable levels due to overexploitation. This will have serious implications for the sustainability of agriculture, long-term food security, livelihoods, and economic growth of the country. If this continues, it is estimated that over a quarter of the country’s harvest will be at risk. There is an urgent need to change the status quo.
Coca-Cola India is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for underserved communities in the country’s water-stressed regions. The foundation generally concentrates on drought-prone areas, regions with water scarcity problems, and regions that should be compact and contiguous to support replications of programs in order to optimize their impact.
Through its water stewardship project, the company continues to provide clean drinking water to lakhs of people across the drought prone regions in the country. The pathbreaking results achieved by the project in Rajasthan transformed the lives of thousands of beneficiaries who were hitherto struggling due to extreme water scarcity.The ten cities that are the focus of Coca-Cola India’s water stewardship and conservation projects in Rajasthan are in Jaipur, Ajmer, Dholpur, Banswara, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Sikar, Dungarpur, Alwar, Baran, Bharatpur and Karauli.The project has its presence in more than 10 districts with 100+ projects. Created replenishment potential of more than 10 billion litres of water annually.
The creation of “Amrit Sarovars,” which can store more than 8 billion liters of rainwater each year in Rajasthan, was made possible by the Coca-Cola India Foundation’s successful implementation of more than 75 water conservation initiatives.
Kamala, a resident of the Dholpur city of Rajasthan is one among many women who had to travel miles to fetch a bucket full of drinking water and sustain their family, further leading to her barren farmland becoming barren. Since the inception of the project in Dholpur, farmers like Kamala have access to handpumps and lands flourishing with multiple-cropping.
“We had to travel far for little water earlier and now we have hand pumps in our homes. Even our farms have access to water”, says Kamala.
Ram Bai, a resident of Sangrampur, recalls how the check dam’s construction altered her life. Ram Bai and her husband would have to labor at their farms for months in order to get water. But since the Coca-Cola Company decided to build a dam in her area, many farmers’ lives—including Ram Bai’s—have undergone irreversible change. They now have financial security owing to irrigation and a reliable water supply from the dam, which also helps their educated daughters and daughter-in-law make better decisions for the household and agriculture.
She proudly claims, “The construction of the dam was the means to our family’s journey from struggling to thriving in the village.”
Coca-Cola in India has improved and positively impacted 2 lakh lives across the state by meaningfully collaborating with its bottling partners, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), and community members.
