ISLAMABAD: Coca-Cola Pakistan is partnering with Cantonment Board Clifton, Rotary International and 2 other organizations to establish 17 water filtration plants to provide clean drinking water for disadvantaged communities in various parts of Karachi.

This project under the CSR leg of Coca-Cola's recent Karachi is Love campaign has a budget of Rs26.78 million. All the plants together will provide safe drinking water to over 383,000 people of low-income communities living in areas like Akhtar Colony, Hazara Colony, Machhar Colony, Lassi Goth, Khadim Solangi Goth and Aatma Colony. One filtration plant will also be established at the Karwan-e-Hayyat Psychiatric Care and Rehabilitation Center to provide 4000 gallons per day water for the Center's 100 beds hospital for in-house psychiatric patients.

Speaking about this CSR project, Fahad Ashraf, VP & General Manager for Coca-Cola Pakistan & Afghanistan region said, this is not the first time that Coca-Cola has installed water filtration plants in Karachi. Previously also Coca-Cola had partnered with Rotary International to set up 5 solar-powered water filtration plants in several polio high-risk areas in Karachi. The first reverse osmosis water filtration plant installed in Malir, and subsequently a survey carried out by UNDP Pakistan showed that water-borne diseases reduced by up to 75% in the area.

Water is central to Coca-Cola's business and in 2006 the Company pledged that by year 2030 it will return to nature an equivalent amount of water that it uses itself in its business, through a diverse range of water conservation projects.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021