Tamil Nadu: CM To Open Mettur On Sep 1 For Irrigating Cauvery Delta
Chief Minister himself would be present at the ceremony to mark the opening of Mettur reservoir on September 1: Tamil Nadu Government
CHENNAI: Much to the relief of farmers in the Cauvery delta, Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will open the Mettur reservoir in Salem district on September 1, more than two and a half months after the traditional water release day of June 12 every year, as the level in the dam has risen to over 88 feet against the full level of 120 feet following the recent rains.
State Minister for Water Resources, N Anand, announced that water would be released for 45 days from the Staley reservoir taking into consideration the drinking water needs of the State and also to support irrigation in the Cauvery delta region.
Earlier, with Karnataka refusing to release water in the Cauvery from its reservoirs and cocking snook at the orders of the Supreme Court and the Cauvery Water Management Authority when the water was required for undertaking Kuruvai (short term) paddy cultivation in the delta, Tamil Nadu could not open the Mettur dam on the scheduled date of June 12.
Subsequently, too, due to the recalcitrance of Karnataka, which almost triggered yet another riot like in the past, water did not flow into Mettur. Finally, a riot was averted when the skies opened up and the catchment areas received copious rains.
Earlier, during the standoff between the two States – Karnataka citing shortage of water even for its use and Tamil Nadu taking the legal recourse to obtain its share of water - Vijay had agreed to hold peace talks with his Karnataka counterpart D K Shivakumar to find a way out of the impasse.
However, Shivakumar himself asked Vijay to not make the proposed journey to Bengaluru since the situation on the ground had turned acrimonious with Kannada groups opposing the release of water to Tamil Nadu.
Though the rains prevented the fight, Tamil Nadu farmers in the Cauvery delta could not start their regular agricultural operations since the Mettur dam was not opened.
Now arrangements have been made for opening the dam to enable the farmers to start their regular work and the government has fixed the date, too. The visit of Inspector General of Police for Western Region, R V Ramya Bharati, to the Metter reservoir earlier gave an indication of its impending opening soon.
However, putting an end to all speculations on the date, the government announced that the Chief Minister himself would be present at the ceremony to mark the opening of Mettur reservoir on September 1.