TIRUCHY: In light of water being released from the Mettur dam for cultivation in delta districts, farmers have urged officials to prioritise filling lakes and tanks before allowing excess water to flow into Cauvery River and eventually into the sea. The Mettur dam was opened on Sunday due to the increase in inflow from Karnataka.
As the water level crossed 118.410 feet at 8 pm on Monday, authorities increased the discharge for delta irrigation from 12,000 cusecs from Sunday evening to 23,000 cusecs. Notably, the dam was not opened on the customary date of June 12 as storage level was low.
P Viswanathan, state president of the Tamil Nadu Tank and River Irrigation Farmers' Association, led a protest in front of the district collectorate here on Monday, demanding that the 935 lakes under PWD control in Tiruchy, Pudukkottai, Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, and Mayiladuthurai districts be filled first. N Veerasekaran, state spokesperson of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, expressed hope that farmers will receive the required quantum of water regularly for cultivating samba.
He emphasised the importance of using all water bodies for storing Cauvery water and ensuring the timely availability of quality paddy seeds. "Last year, farmers incurred heavy losses due to poor quality seed sold by private agencies. Officials should ensure that all farmers receive quality seeds and crop loans without having to run from pillar to post," he added.
Deputy secretary of the Cauvery Delta Farmers' Welfare Association, Kavandampatti R Subramanian, noted that the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) has fixed a certain quantum of water that should be released into the Cauvery every month. He criticised Karnataka for using Tamil Nadu as a drainage area by releasing excess water into the river during flood-like situations, in addition to the mandatory monthly release.
"The Tamil Nadu government should raise this issue with the Cauvery Water Management Committee (CWMC), insisting that the excess water should not be counted as part of the mandatory release," he added. Meanwhile, ahead of Aadi Perukku event, which falls on Saturday, Collector M Pradeep Kumar inspected various bathing ghats along the River Cauvery to assess the security measures in place.