SALEM: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday opened the shutters of Mettur dam releasing water for kuruvai cultivation in the delta region.
Initially 3,000 cusecs of water will be released from the dam and by Saturday night it will be increased to 10,000 cusecs.
Based on the demand, the quantum of water released from the dam will be increased in the coming days.
Through this, 16.05 lakhs acres of farm land in 12 districts of Delta region including Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Tiruchy, Karur, Perambalur, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Pudukottai and Nagapattinam, will get irrigation facility.
The requirement of water from Mettur dam for Delta irrigation is 330 TMC. If the Delta districts receive monsoon rain, the water requirement from the Mettur dam will come down.
The release of water for Delta irrigation from Mettur dam will also facilitate generation of 460 megawatt of hydroelectric power.
This is the 88th time water was discharged from the Mettur dam for Delta irrigation. This is also the 18th time water is being discharged from the Mettur dam for Delta irrigation on the customary date of June 12, as sufficient amounts of water are available in the dam. Last year also water was released from Mettur dam for delta irrigation from June 12. Usually from June 12, water will be discharged continuously from the Mettur dam for 230 days till January 28, 2021.
Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan, Municipal Administration Minister K N Nehru, Electricity department Minister V Senthil Balaji, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poiyamozhi, Tourism Minister M Mathivendan, MLAs Udhayanidhi Stalin, Rajendran and MPs and officials from PWD and concerned departments officials participated in the function.