Bringing hopes to the farmers in the delta areas, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Saturday ordered release of water for irrigation from Mettur dam from August 12. She said the State Agriculture Department has sufficient stock of fertilisers, pesticides and seeds to be given to the farmers and that farm equipment would be provided to the farmers at a nominal rent.
In a statement here, the Chief Minister said at present, southwest monsoon has intensified in Karnataka State and major dams in that State like Herangi, Hemavathi, Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini are reaching their full capacity. Following this, surplus water has been released from Kabini and Krishnaraja Sagar dams during the past few days. As a result, the water level in Mettur dam has gone up to 89.5 feet (52.19 tmcft) and considerable inflow continues.
Since the Meteorological Department has predicted that the southwest monsoon would be good in the Cauvery catchment areas, it is expected that the storage level in Mettur may go up to 55 tmcft by the end of the monsoon, on September 30. Normally, Mettur dam is opened for irrigation when the storage level is between 60-65 tmcft. However, considering the present storage level in Karnataka reservoirs and the course of southwest monsoon, water would be released from Mettur dam for irrigation in 12 lakh acres in Cauvery delta areas.
The Chief Minister recalled that when she assumed office for the third term in May 2011, she ordered release of water from Mettur dam on June 6 ahead of the routine schedule and the productivity of Tamil Nadu went up to 101.52 lakh metric tonnes, thus earning an award from the Centre.
The CM said her government has been making efforts to get its share of Cauvery water from Karnataka. “My government has succeeded in notifying the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and has been struggling to form the Cauvery Management Board and the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee.