Save Mettur dam water in Delta region, OPS urges TN govt

CHENNAI: AIADMK coordinator and former chief minister O Panneerselvam on Tuesday urged the DMK government to take all the required measures so that the water opened from the Mettur dam would not be wasted in the Delta region.

The AIADMK leader, in a statement, said that due to heavy rain in Karnataka's water catchment areas, the inflow of water in the Mettur dam has increased and the Tamil Nadu government has been planning to open the Mettur dam for cultivation in Delta areas on May 24 instead of customary water release on June 12.

"Since the water released earlier from the Mettur dam, it would facilitate the farmers for more cultivation and therefore, the government should ensure that the water should not be wasted," he added.

Pointing out that desilting of canals and tanks in the Delta region was carried out, Panneerselvam said since the water would reach the Delta area by May 26 or May 27, the government should ensure all the desilting and cleaning should be completed so that water will be saved.

"In order to save all the water, which was opened from the Mettur dam, the government should also take steps to save it by adopting all water management resources," he said.

The deputy opposition leader of the House said that the chief minister should discuss with all the stakeholders to ensure that the water, which was released earlier from the Mettur dam, was not wasted and should be fully utilised for irrigation purposes.