Thanks to heavy rainfall in cauvery catchment basin in karnataka continuous heavy flow of water has further brightened the prospects of opening the sluices of the Mettur Dam for commencing farm operations in the dozen delta districts next week.

The realisation of water in the Cauvery at Mettur which stood at 35,998 cusecs on Thursday and 42,282 cusecs on Friday, rose to 46,957 cusecs on Saturday, leading to increase in the water level by more than four feet in the last 24 hours from 76.62 ft on Friday to 80.77 ft on Saturday.

With reports of Karnataka government stepping up the release from the Kabini and Krishnaraja Sagar reservoirs, which were brimming to their capacity, on Saturday, the inflow is expected to go up in the next couple of days.

The water level is expected to cross the 90-feet mark, which is when the State government usually opens the sluices.

Farmers in the delta districts are eagerly waiting for the good news from the the Tamilnadu government in the next few days.

Currently about 1,000 cusecs of water was being discharged from the dam for meeting the drinking water needs in various districts of the State.

The local farmers had raised cash crops in the dry water spread area in the villages surrounding the dam in the last few months. With the dam fast filling up, they have started harvesting the crops.

The historic church tower, which surfaced a few months back, submerged in the rising water on Friday evening.

Meanwhile, people from the surrounding villages have been visiting Mettur to have a glimpse of the dam with copious inflow.

For the first time in 38 years, the Krishnaraja Sagar near Mysuru in Karnataka has attained the full reservoir level in the second week of July and the last time was in 1980.

The crest gates of the reservoir were opened on Saturday at 1.15 p.m. and 20,000 cusecs was being released, according to the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd.

With the KRS attaining full reservoir level, all the four major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin in Karnataka are full.

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