Sunita NarainThe Centre for Science and Environment chief spoke to Editor Prabhu Chawla on Seedhi Baat on the cola controversy.Q. On the basis of the report of a laboratory at Mysore, the Government has rejected your report on pesticides in colas. A. Our report was not wrong. The Government's report says that there is a presence of pesticides in the soft drinks. Both reports accused the same brands. The difference is in the amount of pesticides. It depends on the samples.Q. The samples were taken and tested according to the court's direction. But your report says they cause death. A.It is up to you which report you believe in.Q. The governments of Rajasthan, Kerala and Maharashtra cleared the drinks and it is being alleged that your report was politically motivated? A.You and your Government know better about clearance. We have placed the results before you. The rest will be clear after some time.Q. It has been alleged that you never work for the poor. You always work for publicity. A.If my purpose is publicity, I would never have done this. In our country, laws regarding bottled water are very weak. Norms are being violated.Q. Are there any Euro norms for soft drinks? A.The Euro norms are for water and its final product. Water is used in soft drinks, so the same norms apply to the final product.Q. According to the WHO, there are no norms for the final product. A.If that is the case, then such norms should be put in place.Q. What will you do if the JPC report goes against you? A.We will introspect and try to identify our shortcomings.Published By: AtMigration Published On: Sep 8, 2003 00:00 IST--- ENDS ---
