Flood alert for Cauvery basin as Mettur discharge rises to 1L cusecs

COIMBATORE: A fresh flood alert has been sounded in Cauvery basin districts following a surge in discharge from Stanley Reservoir on Tuesday.

Discharge from the Mettur dam, which stays in its full reservoir level of 120 feet since July 16, has crossed one lakh cusecs. From 65,000 cusecs on Monday night, the inflow surged to 80,000 cusecs on Tuesday 8 am and further by one lakh cusecs around evening.

At present, the entire surplus inflow into the reservoir has been let out. As the discharge from the dam is on the rise, the Public Works Department has sounded a flood alert to Salem, Namakkal, Erode, Karur, Perambalur, Ariyalur, Tiruchy, Pudukkottai, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam and Cuddalore districts.

Salem Collector S Karmegam had advised people against getting into the water to take selfies. Arrangements have also been made to shift people from vulnerable locations to relief camps.

Similarly, a flood alert has been issued in five districts as discharge from Krishnagiri Reservoir Project (KRP) dam rose to 19,478 cusecs.

From 3,549 cusecs on Monday, the inflow into the dam rose to 9,215 cusecs on Tuesday morning and further to 16,454 cusecs at around 2pm. A flood alert has been issued to people living along Thenpennai River (South Pennar River) in Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore districts. Water level in the dam was at 50.80 feet as against its full reservoir level of 52 feet.