Water level in the Mettur dam reached its maximum capacity of 120 ft. on Saturday, and the surplus water is being released into the Cauvery. A flood alert was issued in 11 districts, asking the Collectors to monitor low-lying areas and shift the people living there to safe places.
Following the release of water from dams in Karnataka, inflow to the Mettur dam started to increase starting July 9. On this day, the inflow was 2,141 cusecs, and the water level was 98.91 feet. After that, the inflow began increasing and touched 1.17 lakh cusecs on Friday. The dam attained its maximum capacity at 9.55 a.m. on Saturday. This is the forty-second time the Mettur dam has attained its maximum capacity in its history.
District Collector S. Karmegam visited the dam on Saturday. Special pujas were performed, and 50,000 cusecs was discharged through the 16-vent surplus sluices. Water was also discharged through the East-West canals, which benefits 45,000 acres in Salem, Namakkal and Erode districts.
At 10 a.m. on Saturday, water level stood at 120 ft. and the storage was 93.47 TMC. The inflow into the dam was reduced to 1.15 lakh cusecs from Saturday morning’s inflow of 1.18 lakh cusecs. The discharge into Cauvery river was increased to 50,000 cusecs from 25,000 cusecs.
At 4 p.m., the water discharge into Cauvery river increased to 1.13 lakh cusecs, including 90,000 cusecs through the 16-vent surplus sluices and 23,000 cusecs through the dam and tunnel power houses. Likewise, 600 cusecs of water was released through the East-West canals. According to information available at 7.30 p.m. on Saturday, the discharge was increased to 1.23 lakh cusecs.
Earlier in the day, Collector S. Karmegam told presspersons that the customary date for releasing water into the East-West canal was August 1. However, due to the availability of water in the reservoir, the Chief Minister directed that the water be released from July 16. Water would be discharged for 137 days. Through this, 45,000 acres (16,433 acres in Salem, 11,337 acres in Namakkal and 17,230 acres in Erode) would benefit, he said.
Mr. Karmegam said flood warnings had been issued to people living in low-lying areas in Mettur, Edappadi and Sankagiri taluks, and instructions had been given to safeguard their cattle. They were told to avoid taking baths and selfies near the river banks. Officials from the Revenue, Fire and Rescue Services, Public Works and Rural Development Departments were monitoring the taluks, and action would be taken against erring persons, he added.
Three youth rescued
Three youth who got caught in the flood were rescued. On Saturday, Kavin, 20, Dinesh, 21, and Prabhu, 20, of Mallikutttai, near Tharamangalam, came to the Mettur dam to view the water release.
At Chinnakavur, they entered into the river to take selfies around 4 p.m., and at the time, the water discharge was increased. The youth were stranded on a rock in the middle of the water and called for help. Firefighters rushed to their aid; after an hour, the youth were brought to safety.
