Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay on Tuesday opened the Mettur dam to release Cauvery water for irrigation in the delta region, calling on farmers and officials to use the available water carefully and ensure it reaches the tail-end areas.
The Mettur reservoir has a full level of 120 feet, and water is typically released for irrigation when storage is above 90 feet. The release supports cultivation of Kuruvai, Thaladi and Samba paddy across 13 delta districts, covering about 17.10 lakh acres.
This year, the customary June 12 release did not take place as the water level stood at 79.56 feet. Inflows improved after surplus water released from Karnataka’s Kabini dam from August 1 continued to reach Mettur.
The Chief Minister inaugurated the release at 11.40 am, with an initial discharge of 3,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs), later increased to 7,000 cusecs. Ministers Anand and Vijay Tamilan Parthiban, senior water resources officials, the Salem Collector and local MLAs were among those present.
In a government statement, the CM said storage and inflows would be monitored continuously and discharge would be regulated in phases based on irrigation needs, with coordination among agriculture, water resources and revenue departments and district administrations. Joint monitoring teams involving water resources, revenue, police and electricity departments will conduct round-the-clock patrols to prevent illegal pumping and unauthorised or excess drawal, while farmers were advised to adopt water-saving practices in view of monsoon shortfall and a strong El Niño impact.
