The Hindu : National : Mettur flow raises farmers’ hopes

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Friday, Jul 06, 2007
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Mettur flow raises farmers’ hopes

S. Vydhianathan and T. Ramakrishnan

More water likely as Karnataka dams get copious inflow
Discharge from Krishnaraja Sagar reduced following protest

CHENNAI: A steady increase in flow into the Mettur dam since July 1 has given wings to the hopes of delta farmers. If the current rate continues for 10 days, there is a good chance for raising the long-term Samba crop successfully.

The inflow, which was just 1500 cubic feet per second (cusecs) last week, rose to 23,274 cusecs on Thursday morning. The storage in the reservoir on Thursday was 40.1 thousand million cubic feet against the capacity of 93.4 tmcft.

According to PWD authorities, there is every possibility of further realisation of water in Mettur in the days to come as reservoirs in Karnataka are getting copious inflows thanks to the active Southwest monsoon. The combined storage of Karnataka reservoirs is 78 tmcft against the capacity of 114.5 tmcft.

Dam may overflow

The Kabini dam, with a storage of 18.1 tmcft (capacity: 19.5 tmcft) is likely to overflow in a day or two as the inflow is 33,000 cusecs. Now 30,000 cusecs of water is being released from the dam. In the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS), the storage is 29 tmcft (49.45 tmcft). Though the inflow crossed 40,000 cusecs, only 2,000 cusecs of water is being released from the dam.

As on date, the realisation of Cauvery water at Mettur in the current irrigation year is 7.3 tmcft against the State’s share of 17.8 tmcft as prescribed in the interim order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

The authorities here say Karnataka, which was releasing more than 10,000 cusecs from the KRS a few days ago, was forced to reduce the discharge due to protest by local farmers.

Representatives of farmers’ associations in Tamil Nadu say the current storage of 40.1 tmcft in Mettur should rise to at least 55 tmcft for opening the reservoir. As kuruvai cultivation in the delta districts has been ruled out, the Government should build a good storage to ensure sufficient water for the Samba crop.

As farmers make preparations for the samba crop only from the third or fourth week of July, depending on the crop duration, it will be ideal to open the reservoir in the last week of this month, farmer representatives say. This will also help agriculturists, who have raised kuruvai crop in about 46,000 hectares in the delta districts with filter point wells.

The farmers fear that the supply of DAP fertilizer will be inadequate in view of the closure of a major fertilizer manufacturing unit in the State. However, Agriculture Department officials here say the Government is aware of the situation and making arrangements with the Centre for adequate supply of DAP.

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