Tamil Nadu dams 90% full; heavy rain likely in west

CHENNAI: The state has experienced less than normal southwest monsoon so far, but all the major dams have reached a combined storage of 90% until Saturday morning. While Meteorological Department has forecast heavy rain in the western belt, chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami is scheduled to visit flood-affected areas of Erode and Namakkal on Sunday and monitor the relief work.
The heavy rain in Karnataka and Kerala has resulted in Mettur dam in Salem district remaining full despite heavy outflow. The inflow at Mettur was 1.72 lakh cusecs on Saturday. Bhavanisagar received 47,168 cusecs. PWD officials said the combined discharge from the sources in Karnataka - Kabini and Krishnarajasagar dams - stood at 1.7 lakh cusecs. As a result, release from Mayanur check dam in Karur crossed 2.35 lakh cusecs and flooded the downstream areas. "All rivers, dams, tanks and canals are being closely monitored by the department. Strengthening of water bodies is happening simultaneously, wherever necessary, and whenever surplus water is released from dams," said a senior government official. Level in Veeranam tank that augments Chennai's water supply stood at 7.35ft as against its capacity of 8.5ft.

Down south, Mullaperiyar dam that irrigates five southern districts of TN has a storage of 141.15ft as against the Supreme Court permitted level of 142ft. The Supreme Court on Friday suggested that the sub-committee for disaster management, the national crisis management committee and the court appointed supervisory committee on Mullaperiyar hold consultative meeting to explore the possibility of bringing down the water level to 139ft. However, deputy chief minister O Panneerselvam, on Saturday, asserted that the question of reducing water level at Mullaperiyar did not arise. "After holding various investigations, including seismic parameters, the court arrived at 142ft. We share fraternal feelings with Kerala and consider their safety too. But water level cannot be reduced," Panneerselvam said. Incidentally, the storage fell by half-a-foot on Saturday as inflow was diverted to Idukki.

Owing to incessant downpour, Coimbatore recorded 410% higher rainfall this monsoon till date, followed by Theni (363%) and Tirunelveli (191%).