Sludge Watch ==> India's CocaCola sludge warrier - Ms Mailamma

[Maureen Reilly]

A Tribute to Mailamma

… India’s Grassroots Water Warrior

On January 6, 2007, Ms. Sathi Mailamma, leader of the prolonged struggle for 
water justice and the campaign against Coca-Cola’s water takings in 
Plachimada, India, passed away. Inspired by Mailamma’s spirited 
determination, the women of Plachimada and surrounding communities organized 
a relentless campaign against the water takings by Coca-Cola’s state-of-the 
art bottling plant. Almost five years later, the campaign continues, 
sparking waves of non-violent protests against the water takings of 
Coca-Cola and Pepsico throughout India.

I first met Mailamma two years ago. I had been invited by my colleague and 
well known social movement leader Vandana Shiva plus M.P. Veerendrakumar the 
Member of Parliament from the region, to participate in the celebrations 
marking the 1000 days of protest and resistance against the Coke plant in 
Plachimada, January 2005. Other social movement leaders from India were also 
on hand to mark the occasion, including Metha Patkar of the National 
Alliance of Peoples’ Movements. As well, the event provided an opportunity 
to launch our just published report and book on the bottled water industry, 
Inside the Bottle.





When Mailamma discovered that she and her neighbour’s wells were being 
heavily polluted and/or rapidly drained by the Coca-cola plant operations, 
she founded the Coca-Cola Virudha Samara Samiti and mounted a campaign 
against the company in the spring of 2002. To capture water for its factory 
operations, Coca-Cola had drilled deep bore holes, drawing up to 1.5 million 
liters from local water sources a day. Meanwhile, waste sludge from the coke 
plant supplied to local farmers was found to contain high levels of cadmium 
and lead causing skin disorders among villagers.



On April 22, 2002, Mailamma organized a group of women to conduct a 24 hour 
vigil outside the gates of the Coke factory, demanding that the plant be 
shut down permanently. This vigil has continued every single day since.

In support of the vigil, the local government [panchayat] took measures 
denying the Coca-Cola plant’s access to the local groundwater. In 2003, the 
State’s High Court upheld the right of the panchayat’s decision and ordered 
the company to find other water sources. A year later, a Supreme Court 
monitoring committee in India also ordered Coca-Cola to retrieve its sludge 
waste from the farmers’ lands and to ensure that people around the plant had 
access to clean water. In March 2004, the Coke bottling plant in Plachimada 
was forced to shut down, and has remained so till this day. Following 
Coca-Cola’s final appeal, the Supreme Court of India is now expected to hand 
down it’s ruling on whether or not the High Court’s decision in favour of 
the villagers will be upheld.


During the celebration of the 1000 days of resistance two years ago, I 
remember well the time spent with Mailamma. Speaking different languages, 
communication was not always easy. With the help of a translator, I learned 
a little about her early days in organizing the protest and about her 
family’s involvement in the struggle. I gleaned more by watching her 
interact with her people, working quietly behind the scenes at events or 
preparing a new group of women for the next phase of the vigil. Her dignity, 
courage and spirit of determination were radiant. And, then there was one 
special moment I won’t forget. During the ceremony, the two of us were 
invited to exchange gifts and say a few words to the gathered assembly. But, 
instead of speaking, we just looked at each other’s eyes, smiled and 
embraced. This was one time when gestures communicated more than words.

Spreading the word about her passing, Amit Srivastava of the India Resource 
Center recently noted that Mailamma had been recognized for her leadership 
in India, receiving “the prestigious Speak Out award by the Outlook magazine 
and the Sthree Shakthi Award (Women's Power Award).” For many of us in the 
water justice movement around the world, Mailamma will also be remembered as 
an example of an authentic grassroots water warrior in our times.  As Gandhi 
activist Aflatoon reminds us, she gave new meaning to the American Indian 
proverb, “We do not inherit the earth from our Ancestors, we borrow it from 
our Children." Warning about the future dangers of the ‘water guzzling’ Coke 
plant, Mailamma declared: “…imagine the situation after ten-fifteen years! 
Our children would then curse us and would be forced to live on a barren 
land!'






                                                            
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By Tony Clarke, director of the Polaris Institute and activist in the global 
water justice movement. He is also co-author of Blue Gold: The Battle 
Against to Corporate theft of the World’s Water [with Maude Barlow, 2002] 
and author of Inside the Bottle: Exposing the Bottled water Industry [2005].