Chennai, July 28 (IANS): Cauvery Delta farmers in Tamil Nadu on Friday demanded an early release of water from the Mettur dam for their paddy crop.

The farmers placed their demand for the early release of water from Stanley Reservoir, Mettur in a meeting convened by Thanjavur District Collector, urging the official to forward their pleas to the state government so that they could take up ‘Samba’ paddy cultivation with confidence.

The farmer association leaders told the District Collector that the reservoir would reach its full capacity in a day or two, citing the heavy rains in Kerala and Karnataka.

They said that the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted good rains in Kerala and Karnataka for another ten days and called upon the authorities to release 10,000 or 20,000 cusecs of water immediately into the Cauvery River. The farmers said that this would lead to the parched river beds or channels in the Cauvery River basin getting a wetting.

The delta paddy farmers also told the District Collector that this measure would help the paddy farmers who were struggling to save their 'Kuruvai' crop, cultivated using groundwater.

"A regulated release of water for irrigation from August first week or even earlier would help impound sufficient water in the Stanley Reservoir once the northeast monsoon sets in over the delta region," Aambalapattu South Irrigation Society President A. Thangavel told IANS.

Several farmer leaders also urged the state government to release water from the Stanley Reservoir as early as possible for the smooth cultivation of the 'Samba' paddy crop.