CHENNAI, SALEM: Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday said Mettur dam cannot be opened for irrigation on June 12, the scheduled date for the release of water, due to insufficient storage.
After 2011, the dam could not be opened on June 12 for the past seven years. Last year, the dam was opened on October 2 and government announced a special package for Samba crops (Rs 41.15 crores) and various assistance to farmers in the Delta districts.
The Chief Minister said this while answering queries of reporters at Yercaud, after inaugurating ‘Kodai Vizha’ (summer festival)
Palaniswami, however, said since the rain forecast for the year was good, dams in the State would get sufficient water in due course.
Responding to a question as to whether he would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on the Cauvery water sharing, he said, “The time for such meetings has already lapsed. The Supreme Court has given a clear verdict in Tamil Nadu’s favour and on May 14, the State will get a favourable verdict on Cauvery issue.”
On Saturday at 8 am, the water level in Mettur stood at 34.87 ft against its full level of 120 ft. The storage level stood at 9.60 tmc against the dam’s full capacity of 93.47 tmc. The inflow had come down from 1,000 cusecs to 750 cusecs, and the discharge for drinking water requirements in Delta districts was 2,000 cusecs.
The last time the Mettur dam was opened in time was 2011. Thanks to the sufficient storage level in the dam, the then Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa announced that the dam would be opened in advance on June 6. However, from 2012, the situation never improved.
Meanwhile, members of the Cauvery Rights Retrieval Committee attempted to lay siege to the IAF airbase on Pudukkottai Road at Thanjavur. When police personnel prevented their procession, they raised slogans demanding immediate formation of the Cauvery Management Board with sufficient powers to implement the Supreme Court verdict.