Water released from Mettur dam for cultivation in Cauvery Delta

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Tuesday opened the sluices of the 88-year-old Stanley Reservoir in Mettur by releasing water to facilitate the cultivation of kuruvai (short-term) crop in over 5 lakh acres in the fertile Cauvery Delta region.

This is the first time in independent India that the water from the reservoir, built by the British regime, is being released in the month of May. Unseasonal rains in the catchment areas of River Cauvery in Karnataka led to a sudden spike in the inflow of water into the Mettur Dam which is likely to attain its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 120 feet.

Stalin, accompanied by senior ministers Durai Murugan, K N Nehru, and officials, released the water from the reservoir in Mettur, 365 km from Chennai, by pressing a button. He later showered flower petals into the reservoir.

DMK government calls the release of water from the dam much ahead of June 12, the set date for opening the sluices of the reservoir, as “historic” and one that would help increase the acreage of paddy during the 2022 kuruvai season. The dam has missed the June 12 deadline several times in the past.

While paddy was cultivated on a record 4.9 lakh acres in 2021, the early release of water will help farmers increase the cultivation to 5.22 lakh acres this year. Water from the Mettur dam is the lifeline of farmers in Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, and parts of Pudukkottai, Tiruchirapalli, and Cuddalore.

The government recently said the increased cultivation area in kuruvai and favourable rainfall during the year 2021-22 contributed to increased food grain production in the state.

On Tuesday, the water level at the dam stood at 117.760 feet against the FRL of 120 feet, the water storage was 89.942 tmcft. Officials said 3,000 cusecs of water was released in the morning which will be increased to 10,000 cusecs by the evening.

“Early release of water from the dam will help recharge groundwater in the entire region and will also benefit farmers in the tail-end areas. Since the desilting of water bodies is almost over, farmers will get benefitted immensely from the early release,” a senior government official said.

Cultivation of kuruvai in 5.22 lakh acres requires 125 tmcft of water, the official said, adding that 99.74 tmcft will be released from Mettur till September while the remaining 25.26 tmcft will be met through rains and groundwater.

The official also said while 10,000 cusecs of water will be released through June, it will be increased to 16,000 cusecs a day in July, and 18,000 cusecs in August according to the need and demand.

Besides cultivating lakhs of land, water from lower Cauvery is also used for drinking water purposes in 18 districts. Water also benefits around 30 industries.

The Cauvery Delta, which was used to a three-crop formula – samba, kuruvai and thaladi – had come down to just one crop a year. Till about a decade ago, cultivation would take place in three seasons – Kuruvai (short-term crop) from June to September, Samba (long-term crop) from August to January and Thaladi from January to May – keeping the farmer busy for the whole year.

While the first two seasons primarily cultivated paddy, farmers utilised the third season to cultivate pulses for centuries together with the progressive farming community.