SALEM: The release of water from Mettur dam for Cauvery delta irrigation was reduced to 10,000 cusecs on Monday night as the inflow to the dam is very low. As of Tuesday, inflow to the dam was 163 cusecs and storage was 86.77 feet against the dam’s capacity of 120 feet. According to officials, the state is not getting enough water from Karnataka.
Water was released from the dam on June 12 for Cauvery delta irrigation. On June 30, a total of 13,000 cusecs of water was released. But as inflow continued to be low, the release was reduced to 10,000 cusecs on Monday night.
PR Pandian, president of Tamil Nadu All Farmers Associations Coordination Committee, said, “Water was released on June 12, but till now farmers have not completed cultivation and the water has not yet reached tail-end areas.
Officials have reduced the release of water from the dam within a short period of time. If 10,000 cusecs of water is released from the dam, only 4,000 cusecs reaches Kallanai in Tiruchirapalli. Officials should understand this and more water should be released from Mettur for the welfare of the farmers. At least 15,000 cusecs of water should be released for some days,” he added.
Water Resources Department officials said, “Currently, water has been opened for Kuruvai cultivation and will be provided till September 15. A total of 99.74 TMC of water from the dam will be released for Kuruvai cultivation only.
We had planned to gradually open up to 18,000 cusecs of water. But the water inflow into the dam remained low till Tuesday evening. The water storage in the dam is also decreasing. Hence, the water released has been reduced to 10,000 cusecs. If the water inflow to the dam increases, more water will be released.”