NAGAPATTINAM: Days after the opening of Mettur dam shutters for irrigation, River Cauvery water reached the district through the distributaries of the Vennar on Thursday. While welcoming the flow, farmers demanded water distribution to be prioritised for areas which needed it most for irrigation.
Following an announcement by the Tamil Nadu government of the release of 2 tmcft of Cauvery water for saving standing samba and thaladi paddy in the delta region, about 6,600 cusecs was released from the Mettur dam on February 3. The water, which reached Nagapattinam on Thursday, is expected to further cover the district's tail-end regulators in a day’s time.
On the release, 'Cauvery' V Dhanbalan of Kaviri Vivasaayigal Paathukaapu Sangam said, “The water released for irrigation is insufficient. We demand the Water Resources Department (WRD) to keep turns at regulators and distribute the water particularly for areas needing it more for irrigation. Otherwise, it could go unutilized.”
According to the WRD, about 5,600 cusecs of Cauvery water is being released from Mettur dam while the inflow is at 21 cusecs. The reservoir storage level is at a height of 67 feet. >From the Grand Anaicut (Kallanai), 5,054 cusecs is being released into the Vennar.
The release into the Cauvery, Kollidam and Grand Anaicut Canal is, however, zero. The Vennar branches into multiple distributaries like Pandavaiyar, Vellaiyar, Vettar and Adappar. "All the Cauvery water released is distributed through River Vennar at Grand Anaicut as the farmers in Vennar basin are primarily dependent on river irrigation.
In Nagapattinam, we are prioritising Keelaiyur, Thalaignayiru, Kilvelur and Nagapattinam followed by other blocks," said a WRD official. Meanwhile, S Sridhar, a farmer-representative from Tamil Nadu Kaviri Vivasaayigal Sangam, said, "Several hundreds of hectares of thaladi cultivation need water for at least a month.
Much of the crop is in reproductive stage. It is repeated cultivation after we lost the first iteration to monsoon rains. A release of 2 tmcft is insufficient. We request to increase the release by a few more tmcft.