Daijiworld Media Network – Chennai
Chennai, Aug 27: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will officially open the sluice gates of the Mettur dam on September 1, with water set to be released for 45 days, the state government said on Wednesday.
The Mettur dam, also known as the Stanley Reservoir, is considered the lifeline of the Cauvery delta districts. The decision to release water comes after demands from opposition parties and farmers, after the customary June 12 opening could not take place due to low storage levels.
Minister for Rural Development and Water Resources N Anand said the government decided to open the dam following requests from farmers and the public despite inadequate rainfall in the Cauvery catchment during the southwest monsoon. He said the quantum of release would depend on storage levels and incoming inflows.
At the beginning of the 2026-27 irrigation year, usable storage in the Mettur dam stood at 41.223 TMC, Anand said. He added that inadequate releases from Karnataka reservoirs and the need to maintain a minimum dead storage of 10 TMC had earlier made continuous irrigation supplies to the Delta region unfeasible, although drinking water requirements were maintained.
Anand said the Tamil Nadu government had pursued legal and administrative measures before the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee, Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Supreme Court to secure the state's lawful share of Cauvery water.
Following these efforts, directions were issued for Karnataka to ensure specified flows ranging from 3,500 cusecs to 12,000 cusecs at different intervals at Billigundulu, he said.
With Mettur's storage gradually improving and key inflows expected along with the upcoming northeast monsoon, the government has directed the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department to begin field preparations in the Delta districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.
The department has been instructed to ensure adequate stocks of quality seeds, fertilisers and other essential agricultural inputs. Farmers will also be advised to adopt suitable short- and medium-duration paddy varieties and use water judiciously.
As of August 26, the water level in the Mettur dam stood at 88.84 feet against its full reservoir level of 120 feet.