Coca-Cola India initiates provision of safe drinking water in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh

• Coca-Cola India initiates provision of safe drinking water in Telangana & Andhra Pradesh Benefitting 20,000 lives

23rd September : With a focus on providing safe and clean drinking water for communities, Anandana, The Coca-Cola India Foundation, in partnership with Jaldhara Foundation and WaterHealth India initiated seven WaterHealth Centres (WHCs) in the Adilabad, Medak and Nizamabad districts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The Foundation has also invested in water treatment facilities of these districts to serve over 20,000 people of the community and provide them a sustainable livelihood. The initiative will facilitate improvement of community health by promoting consumption of safe drinking water and reducing susceptibility of villagers towards water borne diseases. The Foundation has also initiated such projects in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra which faces similar water stress conditions.

Commenting on the partnership, Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Coca-Cola India & South West Asia said, Water is essential to life and safe drinking water is the backbone of a healthy society and economy. Coca-Cola India Foundation, Anandana in partnership with the local communities across India have made humble contributions for the past 10 years in being part of the solution towards providing safe and clean drinking water. Our partner Jaldhara Foundation and WaterHealth India have helped us successfully implement the project and positively impact the communities of Adilabad, Medak, Nizamabad and Vijay district. We will continue our sustained efforts in the direction to contribute towards community and environment

Mr. Ramanand B, Jaldhaara Foundation said, “The spike in water borne diseases in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana coupled with persistent contamination of groundwater as stated by industry reports are testimony to the hardships faced by the people in these regions. We are hopeful, with the implemented water solutions, the villagers will reap great benefits in long term. We are thankful to Coca-Cola India and our technical partner, WaterHealth India for their innovative thinking and viable solutions.”

Several low-income communities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been facing the problem of inadequate access to clean drinking water. Deterioration and contamination of ground water has led to high incidences of waterborne diseases severely impacting health of the community. Salinity, fluoride, chloride, iron and nitrate are the key contaminants found in most ground water samples of these districts, due to effluents discharged by industries. With no access to potable water supply, people are forced to drink untreated water from bore wells.

To help these communities in need, the Coca-Cola India Foundation, Anandana has supported seven water purification and dispensation units called WaterHealth Centers (WHCs). These are currently operational and are serving a significant proportion of the unserved population with safe, clean and affordable drinking water. Additionally, setting up of WaterHealth Centers (WHCs) has created opportunities for direct and indirect employment for people in the region hence, contributing towards overall socio-economic development of the area.

Anandana, The Coca-Cola India Foundation is committed towards water conservation and management for the holistic improvement and development of communities at large. Since its inception in 2007, The Foundation has set up over 150 water replenishment structures with a potential of replenishing 13+ billion litres of water and has added value to more than 8,00,000 lives in 550 + villages.