With comfortable storage, there is every likelihood of opening the Mettur dam on the traditional date of June 12 for ‘kuruvai' cultivation in Cauvery delta districts this year.
The water level stood at 112 feet on Monday (May 2) and the storage was 81.2 tmc ft. This is a far better position compared to the position on the same date last year. It was only 35 tmc ft of storage last year on the same date and water level stood at 72.6 ft.
Last year, the dam was opened on July 27, ahead of Adi Perukku that fell on August 3. This year there is every possibility of opening the dam on June 12. The dam received 4,000 cusecs of water on Monday.
M. Moorthy, Chief Engineer, Public Works Department, said that it was for the government to take a decision on opening of the dam. “We will put all facts and figures regarding water position at the dam before the government,” he said.
It augurs well for the government this year as 90 ft of water level is enough to open the dam. As there is a steady inflow, the level may not come down. Onset of southwest monsoon will bring rain in catchment areas and inflow may also be comfortable.
‘Kuruvai' is being raised on 40,000 hectares each in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts. In Thanjavur district, pump-set irrigated areas account for 15,000 to 20,000 hectares of ‘kuruvai' and the rest is canal-irrigated. ‘Kuruvai' is a money spinner and it comes handy for farmers to celebrate Deepavali as harvest takes place at that time. Farmers can sell the paddy and get money for Deepavali purchase. Whenever there is a good ‘kuruvai' crop in Thanjavur and Tiruvarur districts, Deepavali sales peaked as the two districts are agrarian and farmers constitute the major population.
