Tamil Nadu's Mettur dam to be opened on June 12 for irrigation

Chennai: After missing the designated date last year, the sluices of the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur will be opened on Thursday to facilitate farmers in the Cauvery Delta region to cultivate kuruvai (short-term crop). Chief Minister M K Stalin will open the gates of the 91-year-old dam in Mettur in Salem district, keeping in line with the tradition of releasing water for irrigation on June 12.

In 2024, the dam was not opened on June 12 due to non-availability of adequate water with Tamil Nadu blaming Karnataka, the upper riparian state, for not adhering to the monthly release of water due to it as mandated by the Supreme Court in its February 2018 order. However, the dam was reopened on July 28, 2024, after the southeast monsoon intensified in the second week of the month.

At 4 pm on Wednesday, the water level at the dam stood at 114.620 feet against its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 120 feet with water level standing at 85.15 tmcft. Farmers said a good monsoon will ensure that water is released continuously till December for cultivation of kuruvai and samba (long-term) crops.

This year, it has been planned to cultivate paddy over an area of 7 lakh acres across the Delta region against the usual 5.5 lakh acres. “The support of machines is one reason for people to opt for kuruvai cultivation in a larger area with dependence on pesticides being the second. Also, no other crop can give them quick money in about 100 days other than paddy. Also, the government provides a minimum support price (MSP) for paddy,” ‘Cauvery’ S Dhanapalan, a farmers’ association leader, told DH.

The dam, built in 1934 during the Britil standing at 85.15sh regime, is usually opened on June 12 for cultivation of kuruvai but it has missed the deadline many times in the past. It was opened on June 12 in 2020 and 2021 and the DMK government in 2022 advanced the release of water to May 24 as there was enough water in the dam. In 2023, the dam was opened on June 12.

Kuruvai is generally cultivated in an area of 5 lakh acres of which over 3 lakh acres are entirely dependent on Cauvery while cultivation in the remaining 2 lakh acres is done using water from borewells.