Mettur dam to open on June 12, TN farmers elated

Chennai, May 29 (BPNS)

With the Mettur dam in Tamil Nadu slated to be opened on June 12 to release water into agricultural farms, the Cauvery delta farmers are elated.

Farmers of 12 districts of the Cauvery delta belt will benefit with the opening of the Mettur dam on June 12, the mandatory date of opening the dam and releasing water into the farmlands.

 However the farmers of the region have appealed to the government of Tamil Nadu to get the due share of water from Karnataka. The farmers in the Cauvery delta belt will be cultivating Kuruvai, Samba and Thalady in 17.37 lakh acres of farmland.

It may be noted that since 2021, the water release from Mettur dam has been regular and has led to bumper crops during the past two years.

In 2021 water was released on its mandatory date of June 12 while in 2022 water from Mettur dam was released on May 20 which was earlier than the usual release of water. The water being released earlier was a major milestone and led to a bumper crop.

Currently, the catchment area of the Mettur dam and the dam has adequate storage of water. The weather department has predicted the South West Monsoon from June 4.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, M.K. Stalin will be releasing the water from Salem on Jun 12.