CM to open Mettur dam today for delta irrigation

The decision was taken to release water from Mettur following the flood warning alert issued by Centre stating that Cauvery is prone for flooding during this monsoon. Though the June deadline for opening the sluices of Stanley reservoir in Mettur for irrigation purpose had been delayed due to poor storage, the Tamil Nadu water managers are now confident about the steady supply of water for delta farmers till December.

Following the torrential rains in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala, the inflow into Kabini, Harangi, Hemavathy and Krishnarajasagar (KRS) dams across the Cauvery has been steady crossing three lakh cusecs on Sunday and the downstream Cauvery is getting around 2.4 lakh cusecs into Mettur, sources said.

The Dharmapuri district administration has also deployed police personnel along the river banks in Hogenakkal to prevent people from entering the river. The Indian Meteorological Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rain in various places in Cauvery catchment areas for the next two days.

In a statement, CM EPS pointed out that the southwest monsoon has been intensive in catchment areas of Cauvery and considering the request from Cauvery delta farmers, the reservoir will be opened for irrigation. At present, the storage is around 62 TMC against the total capacity of 93 TMC. The release of water will fill 700 lakes along the Cauvery basin and the groundwater recharge will boost the irrigation activities, the statement said requesting the farmers to ensure water management through all canals and check dams.

Meanwhile, MDMK leader Vaiko and AMMK general secretary TTV Dhinakaran urged the state government to take adequate flood preventive measures along the banks of Cauvery. In a statement, Vaiko said that there every possibility for the Cauvery water to drain into the sea without any benefits to farmers. The state has been ducking on the repair and reconstruction of washed away check dam gates at Mukkombu in Trichy since last year and there is a need to take water management measures, Vaiko said.

Dhinakaran demanded the state government to monitor the flood situation on round the clock basis and ensure that there is no flooding along the banks of Cauvery river endangering public life.