Mettur water only in July

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Release of water from Mettur dam for delta irrigation may be delayed by a month from the scheduled June 12 this year.

Highly-placed WRO officials told Deccan Chronicle that water release would be delayed till the second week of July. Officials attributed the delay in opening Stanley reservoir to delayed monsoon and poor storage in the reservoir and the four dams in Karnataka.

Met officials predicted the onset of southwest monsoon, which accounts for most of rain in the Cauvery catchments, in June first week, but after over 10 days, the catchment areas have not witnessed an active monsoon, WRO officials said.

Water storage is below 20 per cent in Kabini, Krishnarajasagar, Hemavathi and Harangi reservoirs in Karnataka and, therefore, the chance of immediate water release from there is bleak, the officials reasoned. At 4 pm on Tuesday, water storage was 41.223 tcmft (thousand million cubic feet) in Mettur dam with inflow of 1,385 cusecs.

On the same day last year, it had 83 tmcft. However, optimistic WRO officials are pinning their hopes on nature and said it is unpredictable and the month-long delay could be avoided if the monsoon turns active.

Delta farmers, who raised nurseries since early May, requested the state to ensure three-phase power supply for 20 hours for them to cut loss. Pointing out that there are 80,000 pumpsets for paddy cultivation in the delta, Mr Arupathi Kalyanam, general secretary of federation of farmers association, pointed out that paddy acreage and production would fall by 50 per cent to 2 lakh acre and 4 lakh tonnes, resulting in Rs 500 crore loss due to delay in opening Mettur dam.

“We pray the CM would allocate 500 MW per day for delta districts to reduce loss by 50 per cent,” he said, appealing to chief minister J. Jayalalithaa to take up the matter with the Centre and make Karnataka release the stipulated 137 tmcft water during June-September, as it was crucial for kuruvai and samba cultivation.