Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami will inaugurate the cleaning of the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur on Sunday.
The State Government recently issued orders allowing farmers to lift the silt from the water spread area of the dam free of cost with the objective of increasing the water level.
This is the first time that the cleaning work is being launched in the Mettur Dam after it was constructed 83 years ago. Known as the oldest and one of the largest dams in the country, Mettur Dam was built in 1934 to irrigate farm lands in about a dozen delta districts and also in the districts of Salem, Erode, and Namakkal.
The cleaning of the dam will help improve the water level by about 10 per cent, said Mr. Palaniswami at Yercaud on Saturday.
According to PWD sources, the farmers will be allowed to dig about 4 ft deep at Pannavadi and Moolakkadu in Kolathur union, Koonandiyur and Thaippampatti Kattuvalavu in Nangavalli union to remove silt from the reservoir.
There has been overwhelming response from the farming community for the proposal of the government. Hundreds of applications have already been received by the authorities from the farmers.
A cross section of the farmers said that this was the right time for launching the cleaning work, as the water level is just 20 ft against its full level of 120 ft.
The State Government has approached WAPCOS Limited, a public sector enterprise functioning under the Union Ministry of Water Resource, to prepare a detail plan for cleaning the Mettur Dam.
The water level in the Mettur Dam stood at 20.85 ft on Saturday against its full level of 120 feet. The inflow of water into the dam was 2,329 cusecs and the discharge for drinking water needs in delta region, 500 cusecs.
