In major relief to ryots, Cauvery inflow rises to 18,000 cusecs at Biligundlu

COIMBATORE: In much-needed relief to the farmers in the Cauvery Delta region, the inflow at Biligundlu, the entry point of the Cauvery River into Tamil Nadu, increased to 18,000 cusecs as water released from Karnataka’s Kabini Dam reached Biligundlu in the early hours of Tuesday.

The inflow at Biligundlu, which stood at 500 cusecs on Monday evening, rose to 1,000 cusecs in the early hours of Tuesday. It further increased to 8,000 cusecs by 7 am and surged to 18,000 cusecs by 10 am, bringing the dry stretches of the Cauvery back to life with water flowing in full force.

Officials said the inflow is expected to rise further as Karnataka continues to release more than 27,000 cusecs of water from the Kabini and Krishna Raja Sagara (KRS) reservoirs following heavy rainfall in the Cauvery catchment areas.

With the river flow increasing, police and Fire and Rescue Services personnel have intensified patrols and monitoring along the Cauvery banks. As a precautionary measure, the Dharmapuri district administration has prohibited bathing and suspended coracle operations at Hogenakkal.

Officials from the Central Water Commission are also closely monitoring the water flow at Biligundlu, the interstate gauging station on the Tamil Nadu–Karnataka border. The Cauvery water reached the Mettur Dam at around 8 pm, with the inflow recorded at 4,923 cusecs.

As on Tuesday morning, the Mettur reservoir’s water level stood at 73.02 feet against its full reservoir level of 120 feet. The dam was receiving a meagre inflow of 67 cusecs, while 1,500 cusecs of water was being released for downstream requirements. The arrival of Cauvery waters from Karnataka is expected to substantially improve inflows into the Mettur reservoir and provide relief to farmers in the drought-hit delta region.