Tamil Nadu CM Vijay to open Mettur Dam gates for Cauvery Delta irrigation today

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will visit Salem district on Tuesday to open the sluice gates of the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur, facilitating the release of Cauvery water for irrigation in the delta districts.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay will visit Salem district on Tuesday to open the sluice gates of the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur, facilitating the release of Cauvery water for irrigation in the delta districts. The Chief Minister is scheduled to open the dam gates at 10 am. The water release is planned for 45 days from September 1, subject to the reservoir's storage levels and inflow conditions.

The opening of the Mettur dam is traditionally scheduled for June 12 every year to facilitate the cultivation of kuruvai, a short-duration paddy crop, in the Cauvery Delta region. However, the exercise was deferred this year due to inadequate rainfall in the Cauvery basin and low storage levels in the reservoir. This will be Vijay's first visit to Mettur after assuming office as Chief Minister on May 10.

The opening of the dam comes amid a continuing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of Cauvery river water. The Supreme Court on Monday deferred the Cauvery water dispute to September 15 after Tamil Nadu sought directions to Karnataka to clear the backlog in water releases. Karnataka, however, submitted that it was currently releasing more than the stipulated quantity.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta directed the parties to place subsequent developments on record and listed the matter for further hearing on September 15. Senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan, appearing for Tamil Nadu, alleged that Karnataka had failed to clear the accumulated shortfall despite the issue being recorded by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA).

Vaidyanathan said a substantial area of agricultural land in Tamil Nadu was dependent on Cauvery water and urged the apex court to direct the authorities to reconsider the State's request for clearing the accumulated deficit. Representing Karnataka, senior advocate Shyam Divan said the State had released 9,888 cusecs on August 30 against the stipulated 9,000 cusecs and was releasing more than 11,000 cusecs on Monday.

The bench noted that Karnataka had increased its release from 11,000 to 12,000 cusecs from August 12. Tamil Nadu had earlier approached the Supreme Court seeking enforcement of the CWMA's directions on Cauvery water releases. The State has sought the release of its rightful share of Cauvery water amid concerns over the impact of inadequate water availability on agriculture. (ANI)