THENI
Water was released from Periyar dam on Monday for irrigation of the second crop in the double-cropping areas of Cumbum valley.
Releasing water from the dam, Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam said 200 cusecs of water would be released from the dam continuously for the next 120 days. A total of 14,707 acres — 11,807 acres in Uthamapalayam, 2,412 acres in Theni and 488 acres in Bodi blocks — would benefit. He appealed to farmers to raise short-term crops and use the water judiciously.
Public Works Department engineers said turn system would be introduced if the storage level in the dam depleted in case of monsoon failure. Collector N. Venkatachalam, Theni MP R. Parthiban and Cumbum MLA S.T.K. Jakkaiyan and PWD officials accompanied Mr. Panneerselvam.
Water was not released from the dam for the first crop in June owing to poor storage and failure of south-west monsoon. The officials had been struggling to maintain supply to meet the drinking water needs of several local bodies and Madurai city.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Department has stocked sufficient quantity of paddy seeds for distribution to the farmers for raising the second crop. It has already distributed 65 tonnes of paddy seeds to the growers in Cumbum, Chinnamanur, Theni and Uthamapalayam blocks, and stocked 34 tonnes in various places for quick distribution in tail-end areas.
Later, Mr. Panneerselvam inspected a site along Bodi pass, the venue for MGR birth centenary celebration in Bodi on November 4.
Capitalising on the intermittent showers that occurred during the last week of August and the first two weeks of September, several farmers in Gudalur, Cumbum and Uthamapalayam blocks had prepared the fields and raised seedlings. They would start transplantation work shortly, sources said.
