Mettur dam reaches full capacity; Tamil Nadu issues flood alert

Chennai, July 31 (IANS) The Water Resources Department (WRD) of Tamil Nadu has issued a flood alert for the 12 districts of the delta region as the Mettur dam reached its full capacity.The water inflow into the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur stood at 54,459 cusecs, and the water in the dam reached the full reservoir level of 120 feet on Tuesday.Officials of the WRD said the water discharge increased to 81,500 cusecs before 8 p.m on Tuesday.The WRD in a statement said that the water discharge may increase to 1.25 lakh cusecs, and requested the people living on the river banks and low-lying areas to move to safety.The WRD said that district authorities may take measures for the safety of the people and properties.Following the warning, boat service between Poolampatti and Nerinjipettai (connecting Salem and Erode districts) was halted, and tourists, who visited Poolampatti, had to return.It said that for the next 137 days, 1,000 cusecs of water would be discharged from the dam for canal irrigation, benefiting 45,000 acres of farmland in Salem, Namakkal, and Erode districts.Meanwhile, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has issued orders to release water into the East and West bank canals of the dam.A release said water would be released into the East and West bank canals for 137 days till December 13 this year, benefitting over 45,000 acres – 16,443 acres in Salem district; 17,230 acres in Erode.–IANSaal/svn