Chennai, Nov 8 (IANS): The administration of Tamil Nadu's Salem district is likely to open the shutters of the Mettur dam on Tuesday as the water level is expected to increase to its optimum level.

On Monday morning, the water level at the Stanley reservoir in Mettur dam touched 118 feet, with the inflow at 27,000 cusecs.

The district administration is expecting the dam to touch its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 120 feet by Tuesday evening.

Salem District Collector S. Karmegam, who visited the Mettur reservoir on Monday morning, told reporters that both the Krishna Sagar and Kabini reservoirs in Karnataka have attained their maximum level and the total discharge is 9,883 cusecs.

He said that if the present situation continues, the dam would reach its full reservoir level by Tuesday evening and discharge would commence.

Karmegam said engineers at the dam are monitoring the situation on a full-time basis and 12 District Collectors of the delta region are being timely alerted on the developments.

He said that as the rains are continuing, the initial discharge from the Mettur dam could be 30,000 cusecs.

The District Collector said that based on the inflow into the dam, the discharge could be decided.

He also requested people living on the banks of the Cauvery river and other low-lying areas to move to safer locations.

The district administration has also geared up for any eventuality and rire and rescue department and one company of NDRF is also positioned in Salem for any eventuality.