Flood alert issued for Cauvery in Tamil Nadu as Karnataka releases water

A flood alert was issued along the banks of Cauvery in six Tamil Nadu districts on Friday with Karnataka releasing more than one lakh cusecs of water into the inter-state river in the wake of heavy rains there, officials said on Friday.

The alert was issued a day after the Central Water Commission (CWC) gave the first advisory warning, saying combined discharge of water (more than one lakh cusecs) from Kabani and KRS dams in Karnataka was expected to reach Mettur Dam in Salem district of Tamil Nadu by on Saturday.
 

"Suitable precautionary steps may be taken and downstream areas informed of the (water) release", the advisory issued by CWC's Southern Rivers Division.

Accordingly, the collectors of Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Salem, Erode, Tiruchirapalli and Thanjavur districts gave the flood alert asking people living along the banks of the river, particularly those in low lying areas, to move to safer places in case of flood, official sources said.
 

All preventive and safety measures have been taken to meet any eventuality that may arise due to expected high inflow, Salem District Collector Rohini R Bhajibhakare said in a release.

As the water level in the Mettur Dam stood at 116.85 feet today against its maximum of 120 feet with a storage of 88.53 tmc ft (capacity 93.4 feet), it was expected to surplus soon.

The inflow into the dam, which was 16,900 cusecs earlier on Friday, jumped to 60,000 cusecs by the evening, PWD officials said.