Rice crops such as Kuruvai, Thaladi, Samba are being cultivated in Cauvery delta areas. Mettur Dam has been the life support of delta area irrigation. The water released from Mettur dam reaches the delta areas via Trichy and meets the irrigation needs of lakhs of acres and then flows into the Bay of Bengal.
Mettur dam water release
Water from Mettur Dam is released annually on 12th June for micro-irrigation of the delta. In that way last year also water was released from Mettur Dam. But Karnataka has been reluctant to give us the water it should have for the entire last year. As a result, water did not flow to the Mettur dam.
Falling water level
When there was no water in the Mettur dam, the water was opened for irrigation. Due to this, by October 10th, the water level of Mettur dam dropped to 30 feet. Due to this the Mettur Dam was closed considering the drinking water demand. After that due to heavy rains in the Cauvery catchment areas, the water level of Mettur dam rose to 70 adi.
Sudden rise in water flow
Later, the water was opened for delta irrigation for 10 days only in the month of February. At present 2100 cubic feet of water is being released from Mettur Dam only for drinking water requirement. The water level of Mettur dam has dropped from 49.95 feet to 49.79 feet. The water capacity of the dam is 17.68 TMC. The water flow has increased from 137 cubic feet per second to 1,120 cubic feet per second.
Farmers Union demand
In this situation, the Cauvery Farmers Association meeting was held in Mannargudi yesterday. In it, a resolution has been passed insisting that “Tamil Nadu government should take necessary emergency measures to open Mettur Dam on June 12 so that the Cauvery delta farmers can cultivate Kuruvai in about 5 lakh acres”.
Objection to expert panel decision
He also said, “The decision of the expert committee to open the Mettur dam on August 15 is against the farmers. Tamilnadu government should ignore this. The Farmers’ Association has also insisted that the action to get the water we need from Karnataka through the Cauvery Commission should be done legally and firmly.
Objection to expert panel decision
He also said, “The decision of the expert committee to open the Mettur dam on August 15 is against the farmers. Tamilnadu government should ignore this. The Farmers’ Association also emphasized that the action to get the water from Karnataka through the Cauvery Commission should be done legally and firmly.
