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CSE Turns Down Coke's Offer for Dialogue
Business Standard
September 7, 2006
New Delhi: The cola controversy refuses to fizzle out. Sunita Narain,
director, Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), today turned down
Coca-Cola's invitation for a dialogue. In a letter dated August 16,
Atul Singh, Coca-Cola India's president and chief executive officer,
had requested CSE for a meeting.
Speaking to Business Standard, Narain said, "We were contemplating
whether we should go ahead with this meeting. While we had initially
agreed, we realised this might just be a manoeuvre to delay the setting
of standards."
"It is disappointing that CSE has withdrawn its agreement to accept
our offer for a meeting. We believe that there is an opportunity for
us to work together going forward," a Coca-Cola press release stated.
Narain said her future course of action would be to pressurise the
health ministry to finalise standards for finished products in a time-bound
manner.
Dismissing the cola companies' claims of the water being contaminated,
Narain said, "These companies also sell packaged water. If they can
refine water for that purpose, they can surely do the same for their
colas." But, she agreed that there was a larger issue of water contamination
in the country.
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