NEW
DELHI, August 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Soft drinks
giants Coca-Cola and Pepsi are battling charges in India that they
have painted advertisements on ecologically sensitive rock faces along
a stretch of highway running through beautiful Himalayan ranges, news
agencies reported Sunday, August 18.
India's
Supreme Court has issued notices to the two cola majors after being
alerted by a report in the Indian Express newspaper which said the
advertisements had put at risk the ecosystem of the mossy rocks
teeming with micro-organisms, said Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
paintings have been made on a 56-kilometer (36-mile) stretch of
highway on the spectacular Manali-Rohtang pass in the northern state
of Himachal Pradesh.
Both
companies have claimed the paintings were done by local franchisees
without their knowledge and that they are taking steps to rectify the
damage.
"We
were disappointed to hear about the painting of Coca-Cola logo on some
of the rocks along the Manali-Rohtang pass," Coke said in a
statement to AFP.
"This
is against the company's environment policy guidelines. Ever since it
came to our attention, we have instructed our people in the region to
take expeditious steps to set right any damage caused by the act, in a
manner that preserves, protects and enhances the environment in the
area," the statement said.
"Simultaneously,
we have decided to work with the state government to start
afforestation in the area and engage a geologist to advise on
restoration of the original scenic beauty there."
Pepsi
explained that it did not operate directly in many parts and had
already contacted the company's local franchisees to take immediate
corrective action.
"In
India, in substantial parts of the markets including Himachal Pradesh,
PepsiCo operates through franchise bottlers who in turn operate
through their distributors," Pepsi said in a statement to AFP.
"It
was brought to our notice ... through a press report that one rock
near Manali had been painted with the Pepsi logo," it added.
"We
have immediately drawn attention of the location bottler to this
report who in turn has initiated urgent efforts to restore the rock
without causing any ecological or environmental damage."
The
stretch of the mountainside road has also been plastered with
advertisements by the local firm Malhotra Book Depot.
"It
is no exaggeration to describe the Rohtang Pass as the second most
polluted spot in the Himalayas after South Kol [the base camp in Nepal
for Mount Everest]," said B.S. Malhans, a member of the Indian
National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH).
"Perhaps
able entrepreneurs do not realize the irreparable damage this
relentless advertisement campaign is causing to the fragile terrain of
the world's highest mountain chain where some of the rock surfaces are
as old as 45 million years," he added.
The
breathtaking Rohtang pass situated 3,915 meters (12,850 feet) above
sea level has also been polluted by garbage dumped by tourists who
descend on it between July and October, when it is relatively free of
heavy snows.
Local
authorities recently joined hands with mountain dwellers to launch a
clean up drive against polyester bags, glass bottles and tin cans.
"In
the past 15 months, we have dug out several lorry loads of polythene
which has painstakingly been removed to a solid waste management
center at Manali," said a local official.
"Some
of this non-biodegradable polythene was lying buried for 10 to 20
years. It was such a relief digging out layers of garbage as it was
posing a threat to the fragile ecosystem of the mountains," he
added.
The
word "Rohtang" in Tibetan language means "a heap of
dead bodies" and the pass has the reputation being one of the
most hazardous in the Himalayas because of sudden blizzards and
snowstorms.
The
passage has been the gateway for centuries to the trading routes
leading to Lahaul, in northern India, Central Asia and China.
Even
legendary traveler William Moorcroft crossed it in the early 1820s.
Former
Director of the Geological Survey of India, Om Narain Bhargava, says
the Himalayan mountain chain is among the best places for research,
said Voice of America.
"Since
it is a very young mountain chain, very many evidences are preserved,
and, when we study these rocks, it can form a sort of case history,
which can be applied to other mountain chains, also. That is the
uniqueness of the Himalayas. By the painting of these rocks, we
conceal some of these features, or some of the crucial
evidences," he said.
Experts
quoted by VOA say the chemicals needed to remove the paint could cause
further damage, and the micro-organisms and moss that covered the rock
surface are lost forever
