Inflow into Mettur Dam spikes thanks to rains in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

The fast filling of the dam has brought cheer farmers in the Delta region who now believe that sluices of the reservoir will be opened on June 12

With summer rain pounding several parts of Karnataka and Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu, the inflow into the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur, the lifeline of the Cauvery Delta region, has been on the rise for the past few days.

The fast filling of the dam has brought cheer to lakhs of farmers in the Delta region who now believe that sluices of the 88-year-old reservoir will be opened on June 12 – the date was set keeping in mind the arrival of monsoon in Karnataka -- for the cultivation of kuruvai (short-term crop).

At 8 am on Thursday, the water level stood at 111.10 feet – water is released for irrigation only if the water touches 90 feet – while the storage stood at 79.98 tmcft. The inflow into the reservoir was 29,072 cusecs, while the outflow was 1,500.

At Biligundlu, the entry point of the Cauvery water into Tamil Nadu from Karnataka, the inflow stood at 20,000 cusecs on Thursday morning. Officials attributed the sudden increase in the inflow to incessant summer rains in several parts of Karnataka and Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts.

The reservoir has missed the June 12 target several times in the past but the state government has managed to open the gates on the said date in 2020 and 2021. As things stand today, farmers will get Cauvery water for the cultivation of kuruvai for the third consecutive year.

“Without Cauvery water, there is no kuruvai in the Delta. We are happy that farmers will be able to cultivate the short-term crop for the third time in a row. We just hope the announcement comes soon and the water release is continued till September,” P R Pandian, president of Tamil Nadu All Farmers Organisations Committee, told DH.

During the kuruvai season in 2021, paddy was cultivated in a record 4.9 lakh acres against 3.21 lakh acres in 2020 – the highest in the last 46 years. The government recently said the increased cultivation area in kuruvai and favourable rainfall during the year 2021-22 has contributed to the increased food grain production.

The Cauvery Delta, which was used to a three-crop formula – samba, kuruvai and thaladi – had come down to just one crop a year. Till about a decade ago, cultivation would take place in three seasons – Kuruvai (short-term crop) from June to September, Samba (long-term crop) from August to January and Thaladi from January to May – keeping the farmers busy for the whole year.

While the first two seasons primarily cultivated paddy, farmers utilised the third season to cultivate pulses for centuries together with the progressive farming community.