Tamil Nadu government today announced that water from Mettur Dam would be released from August 15 for irrigation in Cauvery delta areas.
Making a suo motu statement in the state Assembly, Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa said the water release would benefit farmers in cultivating samba paddy crop in 12,000 lakh acres.
She said since the rainfall under Southwest monsoon has been increasing in Cauvery's catchment areas in Karnataka and Kerala states, Harangi, Hemavati, Krishnarajasagar and Kabini dams are reaching their maximum capacity.
Consequently, the water level at Mettur last evening was 93.24 feet (maximum level 120 feet) with the storage 56.432 TMC (capacity 93.4), she said.
Traditionally, water is released from Mettur Dam, the lifeline of Cauvery delta farmers, on July 12, but had been delayed in view of poor storage in the reservoir. Last year too, there was a delay and water was released only on August 12.
