NEW DELHI: Coca-Cola India's bottling arm Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) has halted operations at one of its biggest plants located in Dasna, Uttar Pradesh, as the mandatory 'consent to operate' has been withheld by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board.The plant has been non-operational since July 30. Coca-Cola posted 3 per cent year-onyear unit case volume growth in the April-June 2016 quarter.Competition from healthier, functional drinks in urban markets and slowing discretionary spends in rural areas have impacted sales of carbonated drinks across global markets, including India. The permission to operate has been stalled on grounds of not having certain mandatory environmental requirements, two officials with knowledge of the development said.An email sent to Coca-Cola's spokesperson remained unanswered till press time on Wednesday. One of the officials quoted earlier said that the suspension of operations may be temporary.Earlier this year, the beverage maker suspended manufacturing at three plants across Rajasthan Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya , citing consolidation of operations and absence of long-term economic viability as the reasons.In all, Coca-Cola runs 54 plants in the country, split between franchisees, company-owned ones and co-packers.

Source: Economic Times August 10, 2016 22:41 UTC