Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday released water from the Mettur Dam here, to benefit over 5 lakh acres of Kuruvai (short term) crops in the Cauvery delta region. As of June 12, the water level at the 120 ft deep reservoir stood at 103.35 ft, while the storage was 69.25 mc ft (million cubic feet), an official release said. On Monday, 3,000 cusecs of water was being released and this will be increased to 10,000 cusecs later in the day. This flow will be maintained till the end of this month, the release added. The water release will be stepped up to 16,000 cusecs from July and further touch 18,000 cusecs from August onwards, it added. Water requirement from the reservoir for the kuruvai crops is between June 12 and September 15, covering about 5.26 lakh acres in districts including Namakkal, Tiruchurippalli, Thanjavur and Nagapattinam. Further, water will be released for the kuruvai, Samba and Thaladi crops from September to January in different quantum, and as per requirement, the release added. Later, addressing reporters, Stalin underscored his government’s commitment for farmers’ welfare and pointed to the separate Agri Budget being filed since the DMK came to power in 2021.
Farm inputs were given on time to Delta farmers last year, which led to a record paddy cultivation of 12.76 lakh tonnes then. ”This year, the government sanctioned Rs 90 crore towards desilting exercise and the works are nearing completion,” the CM said. Stalin also announced a Rs 75.95 crore kuruvai paddy cultivation scheme to benefit farmers.
