COIMBATORE: Water inflow into the Mettur dam nearly doubled on Sunday following rains in Cauvery catchment areas.

From 1,465 cusecs on Saturday, the water inflow to Mettur dam increased to 2,832 cusecs on Sunday, 8am.

Around 1,000 cusecs of water has been released from the dam for drinking purposes.

As the inflow remains higher than the discharge, the dam’s storage level has also begun to go up.

The water level too has increased from 39.76 feet as against its full storage level of 120 feet on Saturday to 40.05 feet on Sunday.

As the levels are still insufficient, water cannot be released for delta irrigation. Water was also not released on the customary date of June 12 for ‘kuruvai’ (short-term crops) cultivation. The farmers in the region have been desperately waiting for the release of water at the earliest to save their crops.

Meanwhile, the Biligundlu, which is the entry point of river Cauvery into Tamil Nadu from Karnataka, recorded a steady inflow of around 3,000 cusecs on Sunday at 8 am. Following the steady flow of water, a large number of tourists gathered at Hogenakkal waterfalls today to bathe and take a pleasant coracle ride in the waters.