The discharge from Mettur Dam was increased to 12,000 cusecs on Monday morning to meet rising irrigation demand in the Cauvery delta region.
Officials raised the release from 6 a.m., marking the latest in a series of increases since water was released from the reservoir on September 1 for samba cultivation.
The dam was initially opened at a discharge rate of 3,000 cusecs, which was increased to 7,000 cusecs within a few hours and maintained at that level for six consecutive days.
As irrigation requirements increased, the outflow was raised to 10,000 cusecs at 6 p.m. on Sunday. It was further increased to 12,000 cusecs on Monday morning.
According to figures recorded on Sunday evening, the water level in the Mettur reservoir stood at 92.39 feet. The inflow was 9,709 cusecs, while the available storage was around 55.35 thousand million cubic feet (TMC).
The increased discharge is expected to improve water availability in the Cauvery delta districts, where farmers are preparing fields and beginning cultivation activities for the samba paddy season.
Mettur Dam is the principal regulating reservoir for irrigation supplies to the Cauvery delta, and changes in its discharge are closely monitored by farmers, particularly during the main paddy cultivation seasons.
The latest increase comes as authorities balance downstream irrigation demand with inflows and the storage level in the reservoir. With the current outflow higher than the reported inflow, future inflows will be an important factor in deciding further releases.
Authorities are expected to continue monitoring the reservoir level, inflow, storage and irrigation requirements before making further changes to the discharge.
(IANS Inputs)
