Mettur dam level rises by 80 feet in just 37 days

From 40 feet on June 17, the water level jumped to its full reservoir level (FRL) within just 37 days following a heavy discharge from the Karnataka reservoirs, said PWD officials. The last time the dam reached its FRL was in the first week of August 2013.

The dam reached 100 feet on July 17 and water was released for irrigation in Delta districts on July 19 by Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.

PWD officials said that Mettur dam clocked a maximum inflow of 1.7 lakh cusecs so far this year.

In the previous years, the dam received a maximum inflow of 3,01,052 cusecs in 1961, 2,41,300 cusecs in 2005 and 1,63,072 cusecs in 2013.

The inflow into the dam, which stood at 68,489 cusecs at 8 am on Monday, went up to 72,486 cusecs by noon, said Salem District Collector Rohini R Bhajibhakare.

Since inception, the dam holds the highest discharge of 2,84,606 cusecs in 1961, while 2,31,802 cusecs were discharged in 2005 and 1,22,617 cusecs in 2013. Though the dam can hold water upto 124 feet, the FRL has been maintained at 120 feet considering the safety of the structure. A pooja was performed as the dam reached its FRL in the presence of R Senthilkumar, Chief Engineer, Water Resource Department (WRD), Tiruchy region, S Semmalai, MLA of Mettur.

Speaking to media, R Senthilkumar, Chief Engineer of WRD said that the water released from the dam would fill up 690 and odd lakes and tanks in the delta region. He also said that special teams are maintaining a vigil on the banks of River Cauvery in the 12 Delta districts to ensure the safety of people living in low lying areas.

The Salem Collector reiterated that people living in low lying areas should move to places of safety along with their livestock and properties as river Cauvery is in full spate.

She also said that people should desist from entering into the water body to bath, wash their clothes and to take photographs.

People can contact a toll-free phone number of 1077 for any flood-related assistance.