Minister for Water Resources Duraimurugan on Sunday said Chief Minister M.K. Stalin will take a call on opening the Mettur dam for irrigation on June 12.
Chairing a consultative meeting with leaders of various farmer associations and Collectors of delta districts, Mr. Duraimurugan said that the water level in the dam stood at 97 feet as on Sunday. There was a convention of opening the Mettur dam on June 12 every year if the dam had comfortable storage.
However, Mr. Stalin had specifically asked him to elicit the views of farmers on opening the dam on the scheduled date, the Minister said and added that several farmers had demanded the opening of the dam as the storage was comfortable for taking up kuruvai cultivation. He would convey their views and demands to the Chief Minister, who would take a decision.
Mr. Duraimurugan said the State government was committed to ensuring equitable distribution of water, in particular to the tail-end areas. There was a need for desilting waterways and courses so as to carry water to all areas in the delta districts. Several watercourses were yet to be desilted. He had received representations from various farmers. Taking into account the demands of farmers, a special programme on desilting and rejuvenation of waterways and waterbodies would be announced soon.
He said that the desilting would be started as early as possible. The government was committed to ensuring transparency. He, along with the Principal Secretary of the Public Works Department and senior officials of the government, would visit the areas frequently to ensure proper implementation of the scheme. The respective District Collectors should regularly check the quality of work, Mr. Duraimurugan added.
Ministers K.N. Nehru, M.R.K. Panneerselvam and Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi, Public Works Secretary K. Manivasan, Agriculture Secretary K. Gopal, Thanjavur Collector M. Govinda Rao and Collectors of other delta districts were present.
