Chennai, PMK has welcomed the Tamil Nadu government's decision to release water from the Mettur dam from September 1 to save Kuruvai crops and initiate Samba cultivation but expressed concern over low storage in the dam.
In a statement, PMK President Anbumani Ramadoss has urged the state government to pressure Karnataka through the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the Supreme Court to get Tamil Nadu's rightful share of water to sustain the Samba crop.
Opening the dam for irrigation, usually done on June 12, was delayed this year due to poor storage and Karnataka's refusal to release water. With recent inflows raising the water level to 89.24 feet , the chief minister is to open the sluices on Tuesday.
Despite the water level remaining lower than the ideal 90 to 100 feet required for a sustained release, Anbumani emphasised that opening the dam had become inevitable as 95 per cent of water bodies in the delta region have dried up and declining groundwater levels threaten standing Kuruvai crops.
Highlighting the challenges ahead for the Samba season, the PMK leader stated that cultivating 18 lakh acres of Samba and Thaladi crops requires approximately 160 thousand million cubic feet of water. Even assuming a normal northeast monsoon yields 50 to 60 TMC, Mettur dam must still supply 100 to 110 TMC, Anbumani said on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}Highlighting the challenges ahead for the Samba season, the PMK leader stated that cultivating 18 lakh acres of Samba and Thaladi crops requires approximately 160 thousand million cubic feet of water. Even assuming a normal northeast monsoon yields 50 to 60 TMC, Mettur dam must still supply 100 to 110 TMC, Anbumani said on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}According to tribunal and court mandates, Tamil Nadu should get a total of 114.11 TMC of water between late August and December to make the cropping season successful.
The former Union minister claimed that Karnataka currently holds 82.11 TMC of water in its reservoirs with steady inflows.
Asserting that releasing two TMCs daily could clear Karnataka's backlog by the end of September, he urged the Tamil Nadu government to proactively secure this rightful share to safeguard the livelihoods of delta farmers and ensure a successful Samba harvest.
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