Water was released for irrigation into New Kattalai High Level Canal (NKHLC) at Mayanur in Karur district and into Pullampadi Canal at Mukkombu in Tiruchi district on Wednesday. Both canals are fed by the Cauvery.
With the Mettur dam having reached its full capacity and surplussing owing to heavy discharge from Karnataka, the government had ordered the release of water in the canals.
Water was released from the NKHLC by the Water Resources Department in a low key event. The canal runs a distance of about 134 km from Mayanur Kattalai barrage to Pidari Eri near Thirumalaisamudiram in Thanjavur district, feeding 28 branch canals and 22 supply channels en route.
The canal irrigates 16,164 acres in Tiruchi and 4,491 acres in Thanjavur district. Interestingly, the canal does not have any ayacut area on its 60 km course in Karur district. According to WRD sources, about 400 cusecs of water was being released in the canal.
Minister for Municipal Administration K. N. Nehru released the water into Pullampadi Canal from Vathalai near the Upper Anicut (Mukkombu) in Tiruchi district in the presence of Collector M. Pradeep Kumar, WRD officials and farmers.
The canal, which runs a distance of about 100 km from Vathalai to Sukkiran Eri in Ariyalur district, would irrigate 22,114 acres in Tiruchi and Ariyalur districts. Of this, 8,831 acres would be directly irrigated by the canal and 13,283 acres would get supply from tanks fed by it. The tank would feed three irrigation tanks in Tiruchi and 25 in Ariyalur district.
Meanwhile, with the discharge from Mettur being stepped up to over 1.22 lakh cusecs on Wednesday evening, a substantial portion of this is expected to be diverted into the Kollidam at the Mukkombu. Although the realisation at Mukkombu was just 23, 714 cusecs on Wednesday evening, it was expected to go up significantly later in the night necessitating the diversion into Kollidam.
Ariyalur District Collector P. Rathinasamy, in a statement, cautioned people living along the banks of Kollidam against bathing or fishing in the river. The discharge from Mettur is expected to go up to 1.75 lakh cusecs and there will be heavy flow in the Kollidam on August 1, he said.
He urged people celebrating Aadi Perukku to conduct the rituals only at the designated places.
Karur Collector M. Thangavel fanned out to various parts of Krishnarayapuram and Kulithalai taluks to inspect the precautionary measures put in place along the Cauvery river bank on Wednesday.
