The Coca‑Cola® India Foundation & The SARA commemorate 75 years of India’s independence with the villagers of Sikar, Rajasthan
Mr. Sitaram Lamba, Chairman, Rajasthan Youth Board, Government of Rajasthan applauded the positive impact created by Coca‑Cola India towards environmental sustainability and water conservation.
Date Published: 16-08-2022
Sikar: The Coca‑Cola India Foundation, Anandana along with The SARA, commemorated 75 years of India’s independence on 14th August 2022 with an event in Balyawas Village, Sikar, district of Rajasthan. The ceremony witnessed the presence of eminent dignitaries Mr. Sitaram Lamba, Chairman, Rajasthan Youth Board, Government of Rajasthan along with Ms. Rupa Devi, Sarpanch, Karad Panchayat, Balyawas Village.
Coca‑Cola India along with The SARA, also carried out a sapling plantation drive with the residents of Balyawas village in Sikar, to mark this momentous occasion of national pride. The plantation drive was carried out in line with Coca‑Cola’s commitment to its ESG priorities and furthering its vision of creating a sustainable and better-shared future.
In line with the Central government’s Jal Shakti Abhiyan, Coca‑Cola in India along with partner organizations has been actively working in areas of water management, conservation, and replenishment, particularly across water stressed regions in India. With interventions spanning over a decade, Anandana - The Coca‑Cola India Foundation has successfully deployed innovative water stewardship strategies for sustainable development and inclusive growth in rural India, to contribute towards the socio-economic development of communities. Coca‑Cola in India, The Coca‑Cola India Foundation – Anandana along with its bottling partners has set up 500+ water structures, leading to the creation of 26 billion liters of water replenish potential, benefitting 10 Lakh+ villagers across.
Mr. Sitaram Lamba, Chairman, Rajasthan Youth Board, Government of Rajasthan said, “I am proud to have played a part in commemorating 75 years of Independence of our nation with Coca‑Cola India and The SARA NGO – organizations that are at the forefront of positive change in solving challenges concerned with water shortage and depletion in rural India. I applaud the efforts of both organizations in helping raise Sikar district’s water conservation capacity. Jai Hind!”
Mr. Mota Ram, Director, The SARA, said, “The water conservation project in Balyawas Village of Sikar was initiated with the support of The Coca‑Cola India Foundation. Our collaborative aim was to come up with sustainable solutions to manage and mitigate the unsurmountable water crisis in the district. We are humbled and overwhelmed by Coca‑Cola’s continuous commitment towards this project. We are hopeful that with such sustainable and replicable water solutions, the villagers will continue to reap great benefits. Today, we are proud to be celebrating Independence Day with the local community members of Balyawas village.”
Mr. Rajiv Gupta, Senior Manager, The Coca‑Cola India Foundation, said, “We take immense pride in celebrating the 75th year of India’s independence with the communities of Sikar, Rajasthan. The fulfilment of witnessing, how our humble but sustained water conservation initiatives have touched the lives of people, through a decade of Anandana’s water stewardship initiatives in India, is beyond comprehension. To mark this historic occasion of ‘Aaazaadi ka Mahotsav’ we express our deep gratitude towards our partners for furthering our vision of reducing shared water challenges and commit ourselves to strengthen our efforts for enhancing community water resilience and improving the health of watersheds. We are honored to have Mr. Sitaram Lamba, Chairman, Rajasthan Youth Board, Government of Rajasthan gracing the celebrations with his presence on this occasion.”
Anandana - The Coca‑Cola India Foundation undertook the water conservation project in Sikar, Rajasthan with an aim to replenish groundwater levels in the region. Coca‑Cola India’s initiatives in Rajasthan span across 10 districts, namely - Jaipur, Ajmer, Dholpur, Banswara, Sawai Madhopur, Tonk, Sikar, Dungarpur, Alwar, and Baran. The Coca‑Cola India Foundation has completed more than 75+ water conservation projects in partnership with Community Based Organisations to form ‘Amrit Sarovars’, which have created a storage capacity of more than 8+ billion litres of rainwater annually in Rajasthan.
With meaningful collaborations with its bottling partners, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Civil Society Organization (CSOs) and community members, Coca‑Cola in India has been able to make humble contributions through key water projects for holistic development of communities.
About Coca‑Cola India
Coca‑Cola in India is one of the country’s leading beverage companies, offering a range of healthy, safe, high-quality, refreshing beverage options to consumers. Since its re-entry in 1993, the company has been refreshing consumers with its beverage products – Coca‑Cola, Coca‑Cola No Sugar, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Thums Up Charged, Thums Up Charged No Sugar, Fanta, Limca, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Maaza, VIO flavoured milk, Minute Maid range of juices, Minute Maid Smoothie and Minute Maid Vitingo, Georgia range of hot and cold tea and coffee options, Aquarius and Aquarius Glucocharge, Schweppes, smartwater, Kinley and Bonaqua packaged drinking water and Kinley Club Soda. The Company along with its owned bottling operation and other bottling partners, through a strong network of over 2.6 million retail outlets, touches the lives of millions of consumers, at a rate of more than 500 servings per second. Its brands are some of the most preferred and most sold beverages in the country, with Thums Up and Sprite being the top two selling sparkling beverages.
The Coca‑Cola India system provides direct employment to 25,000 people and indirect employment to more than 150,000 people. The Coca‑Cola system in India is contributing in its own small way to building sustainable communities through community initiatives under World Without Waste, Fruit Circular Economy, water stewardship, women empowerment, and many others.
For further information on the company's India operations and its products, please visit: www.coca-colaindia.com