Coca-Cola enriches Kattankudy with sustainability project

The Coca-Cola system in Sri Lanka, in a joint partnership with the United Nations Foundation, recently dedicated to the local community a new water and sanitation project at Kattankudy, Batticaloa.

The project aims to provide clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation conditions to 350 households in the region. The project has been accomplished at a total cost outlay of US$ 550,000, and is a part of The Coca-Cola company’s programmes to promote growth and development of local communities for sustainable communities.

Kattankudy has a population of approximately 40,000 in a land area of 6.5 km2, making it one of the most densely populated towns in all of South Asia. The town was devastated by the tsunami in 2004, which rendered 99% of the well-water unsuitable for human consumption.

Three-hundred and fifty households were living under extremely unhygienic conditions, with each house situated on less than six perches of land, which includes a well, a septic tank and a soakage pit.

In view of the population density, scarce land and capacity constraints, residents had deviated from the Urban Council stipulation of maintaining a distance of 50 meters from the well to the soakage pit. This meant that sanitation and hygiene had taken a downward spiral, and the health of the local population was at serious risk.

Amidst this great need for a suitable sewerage system and waste water disposal system, in order to maintain clean well water, the Coca-Cola system in Sri Lanka joined hands with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to construct a new and more appropriate sewage system that is environmentally friendly.

As reports revealed that the entire waste management system was inefficient and unsatisfactory, resulting in many health hazards such as water-borne diseases, they also solicited the assistance of the Urban Council of Kattankudy. The new sewerage system that has been designed is a step-wise system that is environmentally safe and will prevent ground water contamination and, as a result, halt the spread of water-borne diseases.

This project was undertaken by all the partners at a location that was a hotspot in the civil war but will now help towards the wellbeing and development of the local community.

To ensure that the community will benefit from this project in the long run, several workshops and training sessions were conducted with the assistance of the Medical Health Division of the Local Authorities (LA) and the Department of Health. The aim of these training sessions was to provide training to the community on general hygiene practices as well as on the maintenance of the sanitation and waste management system and associated technology.

These community mobilisation and awareness programmes were conducted with a view to strengthening the involvement of the local community in environmental management. Both the company and the UNDP strongly felt that community involvement in the management of the sewerage system was critical for long-term sustainability.

The local community forms both the monitoring committee, as well as the management committee which, together with the Urban Council, will be responsible for the proper operation of the sewerage system following the handover.

The local residents have been educated of the need to manage waste effectively and the possible health problems associated with contamination of water. Leaflets and other material have also been circulated regarding the new sewerage management system and the way in which it operates.

Abhishek Jugran, Country Manager Sri Lanka & Maldives, Coca-Cola Far East Limited, said: “We are proud of what we have achieved in Kattankudy. The wellbeing of the local community has always been a huge priority for our company. We are glad that we had the chance to directly touch the lives of so many families. We have overcome several challenges in implementing this project, and I must commend the UNDP for their excellent work on the project.”

Commenting on the project Patrick Pech, Country Manager, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka, had this to say: “We have always had strong values and human connections that we hold in great esteem. It is imperative to us that we are always present to help people when the need arises. I am very happy that the project we launched with the UNDP will help lift the living standards of the people of Kattankudy.”

The impact of this project promises to be staggering. Not only will over 2,000 people directly benefit from it, the new system is also expected to benefit the residents of the adjoining villages, which will promote greater harmony between the different ethnic communities in the district.