With the water level in the Mettur dam rising gradually, the authorities may open the gates once it reaches 90 ft. At the current rate of inflow, the water level may touch 90 ft. in two weeks.
As on Saturday, the level stood at 72.38 ft (full reservoir level is 120 ft) with the storage being 34.8 tmc (capacity 93.47 tmc). Last year, when the dam was opened, the water level was 87.68 ft and the storage 50.39 tmc.
Normally, the authorities open Mettur dam on June 12 to facilitate cultivation of the short-term “Kuruvai” crop in the delta region. However, for the past few years, poor storage prevented the authorities from opening the dam on the scheduled date.
Senior officials said that even though the rise in the water level was encouraging, the government would like to watch the situation for some more time as it is keen on ensuring water supply till the end of January. However, a decision will be taken at a meeting to be chaired by Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami soon, the officials said, adding that consultations were on with the Cauvery delta farmers. The optimism of the officials stems from the recent realisation of water in the Cauvery. In the first week of September, Tamil Nadu received 10 tmc. The State got 17 tmc in August and 10 tmc in the first two months (June and July) of the current water year (2017-18). Thus the State has realised 37 tmc till September 7 as against its share of 103 tmc. The shortfall was 66 tmc.
Advice to farmers
In the second week of June, when the water level was hardly 25 ft, the government had advised the farmers to raise paddy over 1.6 lakh acres of land and pulses over 1.32 lakh acres during the kuruvai cropping season, instead of the conventional way of raising paddy alone on about three lakh acres.
With respect to the samba season, which normally commences around this time, the officials are planning to advise farmers to use short-term and medium-term paddy varieties, which last four months, instead of five-month-long varieties. Also, direct sowing will be encouraged.
An official in the Agriculture department said insurance companies had released ₹1,650 crore to farmers in the State on account of the previous year’s drought. As on date, ₹1,502 crore was credited to bank accounts of farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).
Claims have been sanctioned to the tune of around ₹2,230 crore. So far, only paddy-growing farmers have been paid compensation. In October, those who raised pulses, millets and oilseeds are likely to receive compensation from the insurance firms. In that case, the amount of compensation disbursed to Tamil Nadu’s farmers would touch ₹ 2,500 crore, the official said. Over 1.18 lakh farmers have been covered under the insurance scheme during the current kharif (kuruvai) season.
