Community members, volunteers and employees joined for ‘Swacchta Hi Seva’ Campaign

Agra, October 3, 2019: To commemorate the 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, Coca-Cola India has joined ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ campaign, an initiative of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which aims to generate greater public participation and reinforce the concept of “cleanliness as everyone’s business”.

Answering to the call-to-action of our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Coca-Cola India and its bottling partners, in partnership with NGO- ‘Ek Pahel’ have come together by initiating activities to promote ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ in Agra. This is also in line with the Company’s global vision of creating a World without Waste. The city will welcome enthusiastic young volunteers from Coca-Cola and Ek Pahel’s official volunteering arm, who will help make each activity an interactive learning session for residents, communities and children. The main objective is to drive awareness on the importance of clean and hygienic surroundings, and promote effective waste management solutions.

As a part of the initiative, Coca-Cola India and Ek Pahel are organizing a wide array of activities across 6 locations in Agra to sensitize people on the importance of cleanliness and waste management.

Following is a list of the activities that are taking place:

  • Wall Painting: This activity will involve volunteers to create wall paintings with messages on the theme of cleanliness
  • Nukad Natak: Volunteers from Coca-Cola and Ek Pahel are performing Nukkad Natak to spread awareness about the importance of cleanliness
  • Community Cleaning: This activity will involve volunteers, children and the community to collect waste from the roads and streets
  • Besides, posters will be placed across the city with a message to use dustbins to keep the area clean and Jute Bags will be distributed to the residents of the city to encourage them toreduce wastegeneration by reusing these bags for daily needs

Commenting on the ‘Swacchta Hi Seva’ Campaign, Ekansh Ladhani, Executive Director, Brindavan Agro Industries Private Limited (BAIL) said, “Cleanliness and waste management is the need of the hour today. Considering the same, we at Brindavan Agro Industries, Coca-Cola Agra, initiated a Cleanliness drive to make the city a better place for living. This drive would surely compel people to think and act on the lines of sustainable waste management to protect the planet which is in danger caused by mismanagement of wastes and different forms of pollution.”

Commenting on the ‘Swacchta Hi Seva’ Campaign, Manish Rai, CEO & Founder– Ek Pahel said, “The cleanliness drive initiated by Coca-Cola under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ is really commendable and joining hands with them to make the city clean is a matter of pride hoping that it will not only spread awareness but also sensitize public on the importance of cleanliness for protecting and preserving our environment for our future generations.”

Commenting on the initiative, Mr. Ishteyaque Amjad, Vice-President, Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability, Coca-Cola India and South West Asia, said, “Cleanliness is a quintessential form of discipline that one should never fail to follow in life. Considering the waste scenario in India, it is more important than ever to encourage cleanliness and waste management as a part of a healthy lifestyle. In alignment with the same, the Coca-Cola Company has a larger goal of creating a ‘World Without Waste’. Our recent engagement towards launching Asia’s largest packaging waste management venture is in response to the growing concerns around waste disposal. We at Coca-Cola India feel privileged to help make ‘Swachhta Hi Seva’ a success and urge every person to play a significant role in creating a cleaner, greener and litter-free India.”

This initiative will not only catalyze a positive change at the grass-root level but will also help residents and children become the ambassadors of inducing and developing a waste-free ecosystem.

About Ek Pahel

Ek Pahel B.R. Memorial Welfare Society is an Indian Non-Governmental Organization set-up in December 2009 by a team of youngsters with the visions to create educated, enriched and empowered underprivileged children, youth and women. Currently we run a school –Prakashpunj - Ek Pahel Pathshala  in Agra wherein we provide free of cost quality education to 525 underprivileged children, give them one time meal, focus on their all round development through physical education classes, skill development training, psychological counseling sessions,  yoga classes and provide access to healthcare. We also run a rehabilitation centre in Agra in association with National Child Labour Programme for 125 minority students previously engaged in child labour. Beside that we also run School on Wheels for children who are not able to go to school for their education, In this initiative we educate 120 students in local areas. We, at Ek Pahel believe that an empowered mother can raise an empowered child. So to strengthen the social and economic capacities of women, we run Ek Pahel ‘Swabhiman’ centre under which we provide adult education to poor women, legal counseling for domestic violence cases, vocational training in various courses like stitching, knitting, beautician, Dona making, Henna designing etc. Ek Pahel also organizes awareness programmes, rallies on social issues and marathon to stand up for women’s right.

About Coca-Cola India & South West Asia  

Coca-Cola in India and South West Asia is one of the region’s leading beverage companies. Headquartered in Gurgaon, the Business Unit manages the businesses in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal and Bhutan. It offers 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 Zero, Diet Coke, Thums Up, Thums Up Charged, Fanta, Fanta Green Mango, Limca, Sprite, Sprite Zero, Maaza, VIO flavored milk ‘Almond Delight’ and ‘Kesar Delight’, Minute Maid range of juices, FUZE tea, Georgia and Georgia gold range of hot and cold tea and coffee options, Aquarius, 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 – 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 like Support My School, VEER, Parivartan and Unnati and by reducing its own environmental footprint. For further information on the company's India operations and its products, please visit: www.coca-colaindia.com and www.hindustancoca-cola.com. 

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