Tamil Nadu delta farmers hope rains in Karnataka will spur opening of Mettur sluice gates

Farmers in Cauvery Delta region in Tamil Nadu are worried over the cultivation of kuruvai as there is a slim chance Stanley Reservoir will open on June 12 due to non-availability of water.

Chennai: Farmers in Cauvery Delta region in Tamil Nadu are worried over the cultivation of kuruvai (short-term crop) as there is a slim chance Stanley Reservoir will open on June 12 due to non-availability of water.  

However, continuous rains in the catchment areas of Cauvery river in Karnataka, ahead of the onset of the south-west monsoon on June 1 have raised farmers' hopes. They believe the neighbouring state will release the water which is due to them this year. 

Though the dam opened on June 12, 2023, the quantum of water released from the dam kept reducing gradually, leading to a major crisis in the Delta, Tamil Nadu’s rice bowl.

The dam's inflow went to a record low after Karnataka failed to adhere to the monthly schedule of water release due to “less rains” in the Cauvery basin.

The dam, from where water is discharged till December, was closed on October 9, adding to the woes of the farmers. 

Kuruvai is cultivated in an area of 5 lakh acres of which over 3 lakh is completely dependent on Cauvery while cultivation in the remaining 2 lakh acres is done using water from borewells. 

Mettur Dam opens on June 12 every year for kuruvai, however, chances of it opening this year are bleak as the water level in the 90-year-old reservoir stands at less than 50 feet of the total 120 feet.

On Tuesday, the water level stood at 47.52 feet and the storage at 16.287 tmcft, while the inflow was 1,432 cusecs and outflow 2,100 cusecs. 

If Mettur dam does not open on June 12, this will be the first time that the deadline would have been missed since 2020.

In 2023, the dam was opened on scheduled but reduction in the amount of water released after a few weeks led to failure of kuruvai in many parts of the Delta region. 

“We are hoping against all odds. The IMD has predicted a normal monsoon this year and if it happens, there are chances that Karnataka receives a good amount of rainfall, and the state government will release water which is due to Tamil Nadu,” Cauvery S Dhanapalan, general secretary of Cauvery Farmers’ Protection Association, told Deccan Herald.

P R Pandian, Convenor, Coordination Committee of All Farmers Associations of Tamil Nadu, told Deccan Herald that there was no chance of the dam opening on June 12 unless the water level reaches 90 feet in the next two weeks. 

“Opening the dam isn’t a big deal but sustaining the water release is. We want the Tamil Nadu government to push Karnataka through legal means to adhere to the monthly schedule announced by the Supreme Court in 2018. If Karnataka doesn’t release water on time, kuruvai won’t be successful this year like 2023,” Pandian said. 

However, Dhanapalan said the chances of the dam filling up fast in just a week cannot be ruled out if the rainfall in the catchment areas is heavy.

“There have been times when the dam was opened even when the water level was just 80 feet, but then the inflow into the dam was quite steady,” he added.