Mettur Dam may not be opened for irrigation on June 12
As on Saturday, the reservoir stock was about 41 tmcft against the capacity of 93.47 tmcft. | Photo credit: E. LAKSHMI NARAYANAN
The probability of the Mettur dam opening on the scheduled date of June 12 seems slim, considering the poor storage and the forecast of a poor southwest monsoon (June-September) this year.
Describing the situation on the water front, a senior government official said the dam’s storage was “not even 50%. The India Meteorological Department had predicted a delayed onset of the monsoon, in addition to lowering its forecast to 90% of the long-term average rainfall from the original 92%. Under such circumstances, it is “out of the question’ to open the dam, the official notes. As on Saturday (May 30), the dam’s storage stood at about 41 thousand million cubic feet (tmcft) against a capacity of 93.47 tmcft. The inflow into the dam was around 1,950 cubic feet per second (cusecs), with an outflow of about 1,000 cusecs.
Besides, reservoir storage in the Karnataka part of the Cauvery basin is not encouraging. The combined storage of Krishnaraja Sagar and Kabini dams, from which water is released to Tamil Nadu via the river, is 16.09 tmcft against a total gross capacity of 68.97 tmcft, according to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Center’s report for the day. There are two other dams – Harangi and Hemavathy – which are upstream of the first two. Their storage is 17.75 tmcft while the capacity is 45.6 tmcft. According to data available with the Central Water Commission, Tamil Nadu realized about 330 tmcft in Biligundul on May 26 against its share of 176.85 tmcft during the water year 2025-26 (June-May).
During the previous DMK regime (2021-26), except in 2024, the Mettur dam was opened on schedule in three years and a few weeks earlier in 2022. Two years ago, the release of water for irrigation started on July 29 when the storage was around 88 tmcft. In 20 cases in the dam’s 92-year history, the release of water started on time, including last year.
Given the current storage at Mettur, the coverage during the kuruvai cultivation season would be 2.5 lakh acres at best, considering about 1 lakh filter points or wells. In recent years, the normal coverage during the Kuruvai season in the delta has been around 4.4 lakh acres. Last year, it touched an all-time high of about 6.09 million acres. If farmers go for the earlier normal coverage of 3 lakh hectares, they would need at least 80 tmcft. The government is considering an aid package for farmers to grow paddy rice during the season, the official points out, adding that it is also open to the idea of encouraging farmers to grow more pulses.
An agricultural expert says it would be advisable for farmers to complete sowing of pulses — usually in Tamil Nadu, black gram — by the second week of June or as soon as possible. The harvest time is on average 60 to 70 days. If farmers postpone crop cultivation, they may have to face the risk of crop damage in the later part of the southwest monsoon or the early part of the northeast monsoon (October–December).
Published – 31 May 2026 0:08 IST