Tamil Nadu - Thanjavur   

“Mettur Dam height can be raised”

Photo: M. SRINATH

SOLUTION: S. Ranganathan, Chairman, Centre for Cauvery Development Studies, interacting with students on the problems of sharing water in Kovilvenni on Tuesday. —

THANJAVUR: The height of Mettur Dam could be increased by 10 feet for better storage and irrigation, said S. Ranganathan, president of the Centre for Cauvery Development Studies, on Tuesday.

Responding to a question whether the height of the dam could be increased, raised by a student at Anjalai Ammal Mahalingam Engineering College at Kovilvenni in Tiruvarur district where he delivered a lecture on water sharing and methods of solving water problems, Mr. Ranganathan said that the present height of the dam is 120 ft and the storage is 93 tmc ft. But storage upto 15 tmc ft is blocked because of heavy silt. Increase in height may make good the loss in storage.

“Increasing the height is a distinct possibility and CCDS has proposed this to the Government,” Mr. Ranganathan said.

To a question whether diversion of west flowing rivers of Kerala is possible, Mr. Ranganathan said that Mullaperiyar Dam is an example. But ecological problems should be taken into consideration while doing so. The government has taken up linking of rivers in southern districts.

Making people of states to understand and appreciate the problems of each other will go a long way in solving river water disputes. He also mooted the idea of forming a Cauvery Valley Corporation, like the Damodar Valley Corporation, to solve sharing of water and take up developmental works in the respective states. He called for using technology efficient water management.

Mr. Ranganathan said that Karnataka had increased its cultivable area while in Tamil Nadu it has come to a standstill. Area under cultivation of paddy was 1.11 lakh acres in Karnataka in 1901 and it utilised 27.2 tmc of water. In Tamil Nadu in 1901, the area of cultivation was 13.45 lakh acres and the state utilised 366 tmc of water. In 1971, area of cultivation increased to 4.42 lakh acres in Karnataka and the state utilised 110 tmc of water. Tamil Nadu’s cultivable area went up to 25.30 lakh acres and the state utilised 494 tmc of water. In 1990, Karnataka’s cultivable area rose to 21.38 lakh acres against 18 lakh acres stipulated by the Cauvery River Water Disputes Tribunal. The state utilised 322.8 tmc of water. Tamil Nadu’s cultivable area stood at 25.80 lakh acres and the utilisation is 501.5 tmc of water.

K. Kannan, Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, presided over the meeting.

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