TIRUPPUR: As the Amaravathi Dam in Tiruppur district neared its full capacity on Monday, surplus water was released into Amaravathi River as a precautionary measure. Surplus water was released for the first time in June, against the usual release in the month of August.
A flood warning has already been issued for people living along the river banks. A senior official from the Water Resources Department said, "Amaravathi is one of the major dams in Tiruppur district.
Due to the early onset of monsoon this year, water inflow has been steady for the past three weeks. As a result, water level in the dam continued to rise rapidly. On May 28, the water level in the dam was 65 feet. Even though the water was released into old ayacut canals, water level continued to rise rapidly."
"On Monday afternoon, around 12.10 pm, water level reached 87.70 ft against the full level of 90 ft. Subsequently, as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the dam, surplus water was released into the Amaravathi River. It is customary to store water up to 88 ft in the dam," the official added.
"For the first time in the dam's history, the dam was filled in June and surplus water was released due to the early onset of monsoon. Amaravathi is the first major dam in Tamil Nadu to reach its full level this season. Usually, surplus water is released in August, September, December and January," the official added.
On Monday, 2,000 cusecs of surplus water was released from the dam. The inflow was 3,031 cusecs and storage was 3,839 mcft. Tiruppur and Karur districts have 54,637 acres of agricultural land dependent on the dam. Also, there are many joint drinking water schemes relying on Amaravathi River and the main canal.
"We hope that there will be no drought in Amaravathi irrigation areas this year as the dam is full. Sugarcane cultivation is currently under way in the irrigated areas," said MM Veerappan, taluk secretary of Tamil Nadu Farmers Association.