The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Opening of Mettur dam on June 12 unlikely

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Tuesday, May 26, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Opening of Mettur dam on June 12 unlikely

S. Vaidyanathan

CHENNAI: With the current storage at the Mettur Reservoir being 20.74 tmc (thousand million cubic) feet, any possibility of opening it on June 12 for kuruvai cultivation in the delta districts is ruled out.

Normally, the reservoir is opened on June 12 for kuruvai cultivation. Unless the storage at the Mettur Reservoir is more than 55 tmc ft, it is not possible to open the reservoir on the scheduled date. In the last irrigation year i.e. from June 2008 to May 2009, the reservoir was opened on the scheduled date as the storage on that day was 69.1 tmc ft, according to a Public Works Department official.

Though the inflow in the reservoir in the last four days is of the order of 4,500 cusecs it will in no way help build the storage to a sufficient level to enable opening of the reservoir on June 12.

The authorities here are also sceptical of the reservoir getting heavy release from Karnataka in the next three weeks as the combined storage in Karnataka reservoirs is only 23.5 tmc ft as against the total capacity of 114.571 tmc ft.

The official said much against the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal order that all reservoirs in the Cauvery basin should be closed on January 31, Karnataka utilised nearly 35 tmc ft (including inflows) of water in the last four months from its reservoirs for summer irrigation.

This would have an adverse impact on the inflow in the Mettur Reservoir.

A cross section of the delta farmers said there was positive indication that the reservoir would get copious inflow in June and July this year, as monsoon had already set in Kerala.

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