Coke suspends bottling at plant at center of water dispute

NEW DELHI (AP) — Coca-Cola suspended bottling at three plants in India, including one in the parched northwest where farmers have been protesting the company's use of dwindling groundwater reserves.

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, which is a subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Co. based in Atlanta, said it was reorganizing operations across its 24 franchise bottling plants in India according to market demand and factory upgrades.

Coca-Cola said it runs the Kaladera plant in Rajasthan "as a responsible corporate citizen," and is collecting rainwater and trying to get more farmers to use drip irrigation, a more efficient method of watering crops.

Both Coca-Cola and competitor PepsiCo Inc., which is headquartered in Purchase, New York, have faced ongoing protests against several of their plants across India over access to dwindling groundwater reserves.

There is no nationwide plan for how India will cope with competing and growing demand for water from agriculture, industry and urban areas.