CHENNAI: With the heavy and continuous inflow from Karnataka taking the storage level at Stanley reservoir in Mettur close to the full capacity, the Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department has decided to step up discharge from the dam to 20,000 cusecs by noon on Monday.
On Sunday, the authorities had begun discharging 12,000 cubic per second (cusecs) water from the dam to irrigate standing kuruvai crops in thousands of hectares in the Cauvery Delta districts.
According to officials, the discharge was increased to 16,000 cusecs by 10 am on Monday, which will be enhanced further to 20,000 cusecs by 12 noon. Officials added that the discharge will be maintained continuously.
The storage in the dam has touched 116.360 feet following inflow of 1.53 lakh cusecs. The full reservoir level at Mettur dam is 120 feet.
After the review meeting he chaired in Chennai on Sunday, Chief Minister MK Stalin had issued several directions to store and save water in lakes and ponds lying downstream from the reservoir for later use, and also instructed officials, including district Collectors, to ensure the safety of the people living on the banks of Cauvery and other low-lying areas.