CHENNAI: The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) on Friday directed the Karnataka government to release 31.24 TMC of water to Tamil Nadu for the month of July as per the Supreme Court’s direction.
Secretary of Water Resource Department J Jayakanthan and Cauvery IT Cell R Subramanian attended the hybrid meeting chaired by CWMA’s chairperson SK Haidar, the officials urged the CWMA to direct the upper riparian state to release 31.24 TMC of Cauvery water to TN at Biligundlu during the month of July.
Citing the Indian Meteorological department’s forecast, the TN officials informed the CWMA chairperson that a slight above normal southwest monsoon is anticipated for this year. Apart from this, there are substantial inflows and present water storage levels in reservoirs upstream of Cauvery in Karnataka. Hence, the Karnataka government should comply with the SC order and release Cauvery water as per the stipulated quantity for July.
They have also informed the authority that the Mettur dam has been opened for irrigation on July 12. As on June 25, the water level in the reservoir stands at 84.22 TMC and 21,878 causes of water are being released downstream for irrigation to the delta region, where farmers are actively involved in farming activities.