The State government has decided to open the Mettur dam on July 19 to enable farmers in the Cauvery delta to take up paddy cultivation.
After a high-level meeting of government officials, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Monday said that 700 water bodies along the Cauvery basin would be filled with water from the Mettur dam and utilised for irrigation. Besides, they could also be used for drinking water purpose, as the ground water table would improve.
The Mettur dam could not be opened on the customary date of June 12 as there was not enough water in the reservoir. Meanwhile, the kuruvai season had already begun, and the government had announced a special package worth ₹115.67 crore for the delta farmers.
With the southwest monsoon intensifying and the Cauvery’s catchment areas receiving copious rain, the inflow into the Mettur dam had increased considerably, he said.
The high-level meeting was convened by the CM to discuss the current situation with regard to inflows and the demand of the delta farmers for early opening of the dam. Considering the Indian Meteorological Department’s forecast that the monsoon would intensify, and with the expectation of further release of water from Karnataka’s reservoirs, the Tamil Nadu government decided to open the Mettur dam for irrigation on July 19, the CM said.
Stocking up
With samba cultivation in mind, the Chief Minister said he had asked the Agriculture Department to stock up on long-term paddy varieties like CR 1009, CR 1009 sub1 and ADT 49 at all agri extension centres in the delta districts. Besides, the primary agricultural co-operative credit societies should have enough stock of ATP, Urea, Complex and Potash. Also, the water released from the Amaravathi dam should be used judiciously through the canal and check-dam network for effective irrigation, the CM ordered.
