Mettur dam to open for Delta irrigation on June 12

“We are expecting the Southwest monsoon season to set in soon and the storage in Mettur Dam is good, it will be opened on June 12. We also held discussions regarding the opening of the reservoir with Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan,” said PWD officials.

After assuming charge as Water Resources Minister, Duraimurugan held a detailed meeting with the officials and reviewed the ongoing works at dams and water bodies across the state. He also obtained feedback on the progress of various projects. The Minister also held a meeting and ascertained the views of the collectors of Delta districts and he discussed the same with officials on Monday.

Officials said that series of meetings have been planned and on the first day of the meeting, works under way in Madurai division was taken for review. “The Minister reviewed the ongoing works in Madurai, Dindigul, Theni, Tirunelveli, Sivaganga, Virudhunagar, Ramanathapuram, Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Tenkasi districts. The Minister also reviewed the ongoing works in Tamirabarani-Karumeni-Nambiyaru river linking project,” said the officials.

The restorations works undertaken in lakes and ponds under Repair, Renovation and Restoration (RRR) scheme, reviewed the works pending under World Bank-aided Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernization Project (TNIAMP) and the repair works undertaken in dams under Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) also figured at the meeting.

Duraimurugan instructed the officials of each division to submit reports on constructing new checkdams to increase water storage, to create new water bodies and to commence restoration works on a priority basis in the water bodies that were neglected for years. He ordered the PWD Secretary K Manivasan to submit a detailed report to construct more checkdams in the state.