38,000 cusecs discharged from Upper Anicut to avert flooding in Tiruchy

Due to the continuous rains in the Cauvery catchment area, the storage continued to increase in the Mettur dam. Following this, the discharge from the dam was stepped up from 10,000 cusecs to 17,000 cusecs on Thursday. Apart from Mettur dam, water from other sources, including Amaravathi river, reached the Upper Anicut and the inflow which was 30,000 cusecs on Wednesday rose to 38,000 cusecs.

Meanwhile the heavy flow in Korayaru and Uyyankondan rivers was diverted into Kudamurutti river which flows into the Cauvery. At the same time, to maintain storage limit and to avert floods in the Cauvery, the inflow of 38,000 cusecs of water was decided to be released into Kollidam.

“The release into Kollidam can help avert flooding as the river has a capacity to carry over 1 lakh cusecs. It will also help relieve the fears of people about flooding. As a precautionary step, officials are constantly monitoring the situation,” Tiruchy Collector S Sivarasu told media persons. Initially, 10,000 cusecs was released into the Kollidam and later, the actual inflow of 22,453 cusecs was released resulting in the discharge increasing to 35,210 cusecs. On Thursday, it was decided to release 38,000 cusecs to ensure the safe storage in the Upper Anicut.