Water released from the Vaigai dam either during the first week of June or by the end of June, depending on water storage, serves as the lifeline of farmers in five districts, including Madurai and Dindigul, for the first crop irrigation. Although this significant event generally takes place during June with the onset of the southwest monsoon, there have been years when poor rainfall delayed the release of water until July.

With the level dipping to 21 feet, several combined drinking water schemes dependent on the dam have come to a standstill, while a limited drinking water supply is being provided only to certain parts of the Theni district.

Even after two weeks of the commencement of the southwest monsoon this year, not a single spell of rain has been recorded in the catchment areas, and the reservoir remains dry without any inflow. Consequently, the release of water for the first crop irrigation has become highly uncertain. Around 45,041 acres of agricultural land in Madurai and Dindigul that depend entirely on the Vaigai dam are now facing the prospect of losing irrigation facilities.

Only if the southwest monsoon intensifies in Kerala and the Western Ghats, leading to a substantial increase in inflow into the dam, can water be released for irrigation. At the same time, meteorologists have already warned that the southwest monsoon may not be adequate this year due to the impact of an exceptionally severe “Super El Niño”, described as the worst in the past 150 years. As a result, farmers in the region remain deeply worried over whether the expected monsoon will support cultivation or force them to abandon agriculture.