CM Stalin opens Mettur dam sluices for ‘kuruvai’ cultivation
Water was released on customary date of June 12 for the 20th time in 92-year history
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during the release of water from the Mettur dam for irrigation in the Cauvery Delta region, in Salem district (PTI)
COIMBATORE: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Thursday opened the sluices of Mettur dam for ‘kuruvai’ cultivation in the Delta districts of Tamil Nadu.
Water from the Mettur dam, released on the customary date of June 12 for the 20th time in its 92-year history, is expected to irrigate 5.22 lakh acres in the Delta region.
From June 12 to September 15, kuruvai cultivation requires a total of 138.5 TMC of water. For this, 125.68 TMC will be discharged from Mettur reservoir, while the remaining requirement of 12.84 TMC will be met through rains and groundwater.
Thereafter, for ‘samba’ and ‘thaladi’ cultivation, it requires a total of 268.47 TMC of water from 15 September to 28 January to irrigate 12,10,000 acres. The release of water from the Mettur dam has also enabled the generation of 460 MW of hydroelectric power.
From 3,000 cusecs, water discharge from the reservoir will be increased gradually to 10,000 cusecs by evening.
Chief Minister MK Stalin appealed to farmers to use the water judiciously. As on Thursday, 8 am, the dam realised an inflow of 6,339 cusecs and had storage of 114.91 feet (85.58 TMC) as against its full reservoir level of 120 feet.
After releasing water from the dam, in the presence of Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister MRK Panneerselvam, Public Works Department Minister EV Velu, Transport Minister SS Sivasankar, Tourism Minister R Rajendran, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and Adi Dravidar Welfare Minister M Mathiventhan, the Chief Minister showered flowers on the water gushing out of the reservoir.
The Chief Minister then inspected a photo exhibition organised by the Water Resources Department (WRD).
Earlier, Stalin was welcomed by members of the public as he travelled from Mettur to the dam.
