The Hindu : Rain raises hopes, but storage is a dismal reality

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 10, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Rain raises hopes, but storage is a dismal reality

By R. Ilangovan

METTUR DAM JUNE 9. Caught between optimism stemming from the onset of the southwest monsoon and despair caused by bleak prospect of raising `kuruvai' in the delta, farmers are hoping for an earlier opening of the Stanley reservoir at Mettur, which hit a dismal low storage in June in a decade.

Sources in the Public Works Department say the river in its course can realise nearly 2500 mm if the monsoon continues to be active over the Western Ghats, where the Cauvery and its tributaries originate. The upper reaches of both the Bhavani and the Amaravathi, chief tributaries of the Cauvery, come under its influence. Hence the Mettur reservoir, during the June-January irrigation season, usually receives a fairly good inflow except for six weeks following a break in the monsoon.

``The river source has started receiving water since yesterday,'' claims a senior PWD official here. However the inflow into Mettur dam remains insignificant; it was just 359 cusecs today. Many feel that the depressing storage in its water-starved reservoirs will force Karnataka (roughly 50 tmcft against the total of nearly 103 tmcft) to retain as much water as possible.

Hence the prospects of opening of the Mettur reservoir for the `kuruvai' crop on the customary date of June 12 are ruled out. The farmers, the officials claim, have no option, but to pray for rains at least to raise the single crop of samba and thalady, for which again the northeast monsoon ought to be active.

But the reservoir has been opened behind schedule on many an occasion. It was opened on June 12 on 11 occasions and ahead of the normal date 10 times. Water was released 18 times between June 12 and 28, while between June 28 and July 12, it was discharged 16 times. The reservoir was opened six times between July 12 and 29 and seven times beyond July 29. It has been opened for irrigation 68 times between June 12 and July 29 since 1934.

The reservoir has also seen its worst of times too. With today's storage, recorded at 12 noon, standing at a mere 5.96 tmcft and a dismal level of 25.82 feet (full level 120 feet), the situation reminds one of the worst drought in 1975, when the level stood at a mere 10 feet. To operate the big sluices, the reservoir needs a minimum of 45 tmcft with a minimum level of 90 feet. Water stood at the brim at 36 times and surplussed twice, once in 1934, year of commissioning of the dam and again in July in 1961.

Till two days ago the reservoir released 1000 cusecs in the river course for drinking water needs of the downstream habitations.

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