With the heavy discharge from the Mettur dam and its subsequent realisation in the river Cauvery, the Public Works Department authorities as a precautionary measure have released water in the river Coleroon on Monday afternoon.
“With the discharge from the Mettur dam crossing about 1.22 lakh cusecs, about 20,000 cusecs of water was released into the Coleroon from Mukkombu. This release is expected to be stepped up to 70,000 cusecs by Tuesday morning”, T. Painthamizhselvan, Chief Engineer, PWD, told ‘The Hindu’ here.
Due to the sudden release of water, the revenue authorities have issued flood warning to the residents of the low lying areas on the banks of river Coleroon in the districts of Tiruchi, Ariyalur, Thanjavur, Nagapattinam districts. They have been asked to move to safety with immediate effect.
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Water has also been released into all the 17 major irrigation channels of river Cauvery, raising the prospects for cultivation in the district.
Public Works Department officials heaved a sigh of relief in the afternoon, as the discharge rate from Mettur got slightly reduced, as compared to Sunday.
“The realisation of water in the Cauvery well before the onset of monsoon has come in handy for us to tackle the situation to a great extent. Had the discharge coincided with the onset of the monsoon, the possibility of inundation of fields could not be ruled out,” Mr. Painthamizhselvan said adding that waters would be released for irrigation through the Pullampadi channel on Tuesday.
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Meanwhile, a round the clock flood control room has been opened at the Collectorate at Tiruchi today.
The Thanjavur Collector K.Baskaran along with the PWD officials travelled from Grand Anicut to Anaikarai alongside Coleroon river and inspected the preparedness of the officials machinery this evening.