Salem (Tamil Nadu), Sep 1 (PTI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay opened the sluices of the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur on Tuesday for irrigation in the Cauvery delta districts.
Vijay, in the presence of his Cabinet colleagues, including N Anand, turned on a button to open the sluice gates and showered flowers and grains on the gushing waters marking the release of Cauvery water.
After he became the chief minister, this is the first time Vijay opens the historic Mettur dam, the lifeline of farmers in the delta regions of the state. He also posed with farmers on the premises of the dam. Sporting a green shawl, seen as a symbol of farmers and agriculture, he interacted with ryots.
After arriving here by a special flight from Chennai, Vijay reached Mettur by road.
On his way to the reservoir town, he held a road show, greeted people, and enthusiastically waved at them, who lined up both sides of the road.
The CM was given a rousing reception by the TVK cadres, who erected party flag poles on road margins and also put up banners and festoons along roadsides and prominent intersections.
In several places, people showered flowers on him.
The water discharged from the dam reaches about 12 districts, including the primary beneficiary farmers in Thanjavur, considered the rice bowl of Tamil Nadu.
On the premises of the reservoir, the CM also inspected a photo expo on the iconic Mettur dam and the journey of River Cauvery.
The release was keeping in mind the drinking water and irrigation needs, by accepting requests from farmers and the general public, the government said, adding sufficient rainfall was not received in the Cauvery basin during the southwest monsoon season.
The government said the water release — depending on the storage level and inflow — from the Mettur Dam will be for 45 days starting September 1.
Farmers were requested to use the available water economically and systematically, and to carry out cultivation activities in accordance with official advice.
Officials were also tasked with ensuring that the water reached the tail-end areas and every available drop of water yielded maximum irrigation benefit, and “more crop per drop” was achieved.
As on September 1, the storage in Mettur dam is 91.56 ft (54.45 tmcft/inflow 10,857 cusecs) out of the full 120 ft.
Though June 12 is the customary date for opening the sluice gates, the exercise was deferred due to poor monsoon and low storage levels.
Considering the deficit of the southwest monsoon and the impact of the severe El Nino, the current release of water is a planned measure to manage the limited water economically and effectively and protect the cultivation of samba paddy crop, a government press release said.
Hence, farmers are requested to cultivate medium-duration paddy varieties with low water requirement and adopt water-saving cultivation methods including direct sowing of rice.
“Let us use water economically; distribute it till the end of the season; let us make samba cultivation a success,” the government said in the release.
The storage at the dam and also the discharge will be continuously monitored and the water release will be regulated as per the irrigation requirement.
“It will be ensured that every cubic ft of water released from the Mettur dam is properly utilised for the benefit of the farmers. Illegal pumping of water through electric motors in the channels of the Cauvery river and canals, unauthorised water extraction and water extraction beyond the limits prescribed in the permitted irrigation schemes will be strictly prevented,” the government warned.
To ensure the implementation, joint monitoring teams comprising officials from the Water Resources Department, Revenue and Disaster Management Department, Police and Tamil Nadu Electricity Distribution Corporation will be formed and patrolling will be carried out day and night.
Stressing that “Cauvery water is our legal right as confirmed by the tribunal and the Supreme Court judgment,” the government said “we will not give up that right under any circumstances.” Further, the government said it is continuously taking firm steps to get the water due for Tamil Nadu as per the final verdict of the Cauvery tribunal and the apex court verdict dated February 16, 2018.
The government is taking all legal and administrative steps to safeguard Tamil Nadu’s legal share of water and also the rights of delta farmers.
Water Resources Minister Anand, Transport Minister A Vijay Thamizhan Parthiban, MLAs, S Lakshmanan, K Sivakumar, M S Palanivel, Secretary, Water Resources Department Prashanth M Vadanere, Salem district collector K Ilambhagavat, Principal Chief Engineer of Water Resources Department S Gopalakrishnan, Trichy zone chief engineer A Jayakumari, representatives of local bodies, agriculturalists and senior government officials participated.
Later, the chief minister inspected the Mettur hydropower station and officials briefed him on the operations, power generation capacity and maintenance tasks.
He wrapped up his visit to the facility by posing for a group photograph with the workers and appreciated their service. PTI JSP KH VGN JSP VGN
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