Water was released from Kuppanatham Dam in Chengam taluk for irrigation of 9,728.04 acres of land on Wednesday. The water will be released for 25 days.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister Sevur S. Ramachandran opened the sluice gate to release the water in the presence of Collector K.S. Kandasamy. The water level stood at 58.95 feet as against the dam’s total level of 59.04 feet as on 7 a.m. on Wednesday. The dam’s present storage is 699.16 mcft, against its total storage capacity of 700 mcft, a press release said.
Of 699.16 mcft of water stored in the dam, it is estimated that a total of 180.95 mcft goes to cater to the basic drinking water requirements, maintenance and loss due to evaporation. With this, 518.21 mcft of water was available in the dam for irrigation purposes.
Water released from the dam will irrigate 9,728.04 acres of land in Chengam and Kalasapakkam taluks. It has been planned to release 250 cusecs a day for 20 days from Wednesday. From March 13, 200 cusecs will be released per day for five days.
The beneficiaries have been urged to use the water judiciously and adhere to the advice of officials of the Public Works Department, the release said.
