THANJAVUR/TIRUVARUR: Sporadic rain across the delta districts of Thanjavur and Tiruvarur, coupled with an increase in the inflow into the Mettur dam, have renewed optimism among farmers of a successful samba season.
On Saturday night, parts of Thanjavur and Tiruvarur experienced sporadic rainfall, with Mannargudi recording a maximum of 27 mm.
The rain came as a relief to farmers in the region, many of whom are in the process of preparing their fields for samba paddy cultivation.
In tandem with the rainfall, the inflow into the Mettur dam, which had been on the decline since August 20, has seen an increase over the past few days.
The inflow, which stood at 6,396 cusecs on Saturday morning, surged to 12,904 cusecs by the evening, and further to 19,199 cusecs by Sunday morning.
“There was a very good spell of rain in Orathanadu and surrounding areas on Saturday. This will help farmers who have taken up raising the nurseries for samba cultivation,” said R Sukumaran, a farmer from Kakkarai village. “The increased inflow into Mettur also instilled hopes among us,” he added.
13,000 cusecs released from Mettur dam
Meanwhile, in response to farmers’ demands for more water to support nursery raising, release of Cauvery water from Mettur was increased from 12,000 cusecs to 13,500 cusecs from 4 pm on August 30.