Mettur Dam shut as rains lash delta

SALEM: Discharge of water from Mettur dam was suspended even as heavy showers continued to lash the State on Friday.According to official sources, the PWD decided to stop discharge of water from the dam as the recent rains have quenched the Cauvery  delta.  Farmers in the delta region have been demanding the discharge of water from the Mettur for irrigation purposes.  Even with the onset of the Monsoons, the inflow  to the dam remained at average levels. On October 22, a meager 2,797 cusecs was released for the Tamil Nadu region.There has been no significant discharge from the dam since then.On Friday, the dam’s catchment areas brought in an inflow of 15,000 cusecs.  The water level at the dam stood at 88.70 ft, against its full capacity of 120 ft.Meanwhile, the Karnataka reservoirs remained closed.