CPI(M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan on Saturday urged the State government to withdraw the permission granted to Coca Cola to start a unit at the SIPCOT complex at Perundurai in Erode district.
Talking to reporters on the eve of the party’s 21st conference to be held between February 16 and 19, Mr. Ramakrishnan said Coca-Cola was allowed to draw 30 lakh litres of water a day that would deplete the groundwater.
“Groundwater in Erode and neighbouring districts has already been polluted by industrial wastes. Drawing water will further aggravate the situation.” The CPI(M) had organised an all party meeting on Monday to discuss the issue.
Alleging that cash played a major role in the Srirangam by-election, Mr. Ramakrishnan said the Aam Aadmi Party’s victory in the Delhi Assembly election clearly indicated people’s desire for change.
“Besides debating the outcome of the Delhi elections, the State conference will also project an alternative to the neo-liberal economic policies pursued by both the Congress and the BJP governments,” he said.
Mr. Ramakrishnan said in Tamil Nadu, both the AIADMK and the DMK toed the lines of the BJP and the Congress and people were subjected to enormous hardships due to unemployment, closure of companies in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and government schools and inefficient administration.
