Chennai : Municipal administration minister K N Nehru, and school education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi opened the sluices in Kallanai to release water in rivers Cauvery, Vennar, Kollidam and GA Canal. Water released from the Mettur reservoir on May 24 for kuruvai cultivation in the delta districts reached the Mukkombu barrage in Trichy and Kallanai on Friday. This was the earliest arrival of the water in 65 years as it is usually released from Mettur in June. With the opening of the sluices of the Grand Anaicut (Kallanai dam) on Friday, over 3.38 lakh acres is expected to come under Kuruvai paddy cultivation in the Cauvery delta region this year.
For the first time since the country’s independence, Cauvery water was released from Mettur dam on May 24, well ahead of the customary date of June 12. Earlier special poojas were held at the Anjaneyar temple on the Kollidam riverbed, at Adhi Vinayakar temple, and at Karuppanasamy temple on the banks of the Cauvery. Initially 500 cusecs was released into each of the rivers: the Cauvery, Vennaru, and the Kollidam. Only 100 cusecs was released into the Grand Anaicut. Minister K N Nehru said it would take a week for the water to reach the tail-end areas. As on Friday the inflow into Mettur dam was 6,000 cusecs, he added. A total of 10,000 cusecs is being released for Cauvery delta irrigation. With the release, it is expected a total of 3.38 lakh acres downstream Kallanai will be covered under Kuruvai paddy cultivation this year. Besides irrigation, the water released would be utilised for filling up as many as 924 ponds, the minister also said.
Earlier in the morning, farmers welcomed the water at Mayanur barrage in Karur district and Mukkombu barrage in Trichy by showering paddy seeds and flowers.
