COIMBATORE: The sluices of Aliyar dam were opened on Monday to irrigate 6,400 acres in old Aayacut areas in Pollachi near Coimbatore.
Water will be released from the reservoir for 136 days not exceeding 1,020 cusecs till October 24. Every year, water used to be released for old Ayacut areas in the month of May. As there was a delay this year due to poor water storage in the dam, the farmers urged the State government for early release of water for the first phase of irrigation.
Water was released by Public Works Department (PWD) officials in the presence of revenue department staff and others.
Water would be released to old ayacut areas through the main canals -- Vadakkalur, Pallivilangal, Ariyapuram, Karapatti, and Perianai. The PWD officials asked farmers to use the water judiciously and attain maximum yield in agriculture.
Meanwhile, it is unlikely to release water from the Mettur dam on June 12 for ‘kuruvai’ cultivation because of the poor storage position.
As of Monday, 8 am, the water level in the reservoir stood at 43.95 feet as against its full reservoir level of 120 feet.
The water level in the dam continued to dip gradually as the inflow was less than the discharge. It continued to receive a meager inflow of 795 cusecs, while 2,100 cusecs were released from the dam for drinking water purposes.