With the Mettur Dam in Salem filling up fast following heavy inflows from Karnataka, the Tamil Nadu government on Sunday directed the release of water from the reservoir to cater to the Cauvery delta districts in the state.
Chief Minister M K Stalin chaired a meeting attended by Water Resources Minister Duraimurugan, among others, and top officials here to review the situation.
Heavy rains in the Cauvery's catchment areas led Karnataka to release 1.48 lakh cusecs of excess water, raising Mettur Dam's water level to 109.20 ft, according to an official release. The full reservoir level is 120 ft.
The quantum of water released by Karnataka is expected to continue for the next three days.
After the meeting, the chief minister directed the release of water from Mettur Dam 3 pm onwards on Sunday to irrigate the short-term standing 'kuruvai' crops, which would also enable people to celebrate the 'Aadiperukku' festival in the coming days with fervour, the release added.
Initially, 12,000 cusecs of water will be released from the reservoir, which acts as a lifeline for the Cauvery delta districts, including Thanjavur and Tiruchirappalli, and the quantum would be increased gradually, based on the inflow, it said.
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