Date:10/01/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/01/10/stories/2003011003470500.htm

Southern States - Tamil Nadu

Mettur dam closed

By Our Special Correspondent

METTUR Jan. 9. As per a Tamil Nadu Government direction, Public Works department closed the Mettur dam for delta irrigation at 6 p.m. today. Before the sluices were shut down, 11,481 cusecs flowed out of the reservoir.

During normal season, the closure would be effected only on January 18, viz., when the onset of monsoon is regular and the prospects of kuruvai and samba crops are bright. For the first time in the last three decades, the release was stopped before the scheduled date, PWD sources said.

The "closing level" touched the unprecedented low of 28 ft (maximum level 120 ft). It is not clear how much silt got deposited. The precarious water level would pose a problem for the next season, when the dam reopens. There were occasions when the dam was closed with the level at 85 to 95 ft, a comfortable situation for the ensuing season.