Chennai: River Cauvery was in spate on Saturday as a record 1.40 lakh cusecs of water released from dams in Karnataka reached the lower riparian state of Tamil Nadu. As a result, the water level at the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur, the lifeline of lakhs of farmers in the fertile Cauvery Delta region, touched 103 feet as against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 120 feet.
With over 1.40 lakh cusecs of water from Kabini and Krishnarajasagar dams reaching Biligundulu, the entry point of the Cauvery water into Tamil Nadu from Karnataka, people living in the low-lying areas in Salem district have been asked to move to safety.
At 8 pm on Saturday, the water level at the Mettur Dam stood at 103.130 feet, while the storage shot up to 68.95 tmcft even as the inflow was 1.23 lakh cusecs. Extremely heavy rainfall in catchment areas of the river, especially Kodagu, led to record storages in Karnataka dams which were opened after they were full to their capacity.
The water level which stood at 50.03 feet on July 18 rose to 103.13 feet on July 27, an increase of 53.1 feet in just 10 days. From July 18 to July 27, the water realisation at Biligundulu, the entry point of Cauvery water into Tamil Nadu from Karnataka, is estimated to be 51.12 tmcft.
If the water level continues to increase at the same level, the dam will reach its FRL by Monday or Tuesday, sources said, adding that the government will soon take a call on releasing water from the dam for irrigation and Aadi Perukku, an important festival for people in Delta.
The increase in water level has effectively avoided a confrontation between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka which continues to fight over the sharing of Cauvery water.
On July 16, the Tamil Nadu government convened an all-party meeting to condemn Karnataka for not releasing 12 tmcft of water every day from July 12 to July 31 as per the directions of the Cauvery Water Regulatory Committee (CWRC) and resolved to move the Supreme Court if the need arose.
However, Karnataka began releasing excess water from its dam on July 18. Farmers in the Delta region are now demanding the immediate release of water for irrigation as many who have cultivated kuruvai (short-term crop) are waiting for water. Moreover, the groundwater will get recharged well in time for the cultivation of samba (long-term crop).
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu fight over sharing of Cauvery water despite the Supreme Court delivering its judgment on the long-drawn dispute. For four years from 2018 to 2022, the states didn’t fight much on the issue due to heavy rains and a steady inflow of water into the Mettur dam. In 2023, the states began fighting and it reached the Supreme Court yet again.