The prospects of a ‘kuruvai’ paddy crop appear bleak in the Cauvery delta this year too, as the Stanley reservoir in Mettur is unlikely to be opened for irrigation on the customary date of June 12.
2019 would be the eighth consecutive year that the short-term crop has been affected in the State due to insufficient water in the dam. The last time the waters flowed for ‘kuruvai’ cultivation was in 2011, when the dam was opened ahead of schedule on June 6, recalled farmers.
The level in the Mettur dam stood at 47.44 feet (16.23 thousand million cubic feet) on Sunday, which would not allow release of water for irrigation, unless there is bountiful rainfall in the catchment areas in Karnataka and copious inflow from the neighbouring State over the next couple of weeks.
Karnataka PWD Minister H.D. Revanna, during a recent visit to Kumbakonam, told reporters that water could be released to Tamil Nadu only if there is rainfall.
The Tamil Nadu Water Resources Department figures on the present storage position in Karnataka’s reservoirs, put out by the Tamil Nadu State Disaster Manager Authority on Sunday, do not present an encouraging picture.