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Mettur reservoir closed

With rains in sight, the Tamil Nadu irrigation department has shut down the all-important Mettur reservoir where the storage level has come down to 34.86 feet.

The idea is to let the farmers live off the rains while the water level in the reservoir is increased.

The reservoir is primarily fed by water from the Cauvery river, which originates in Karnataka.

Breaking from tradition, the reservoir gates were not opened on June 12 following the failure of the southwest monsoon in the Cauvery basin areas in neighbouring Karnataka.

The lack of rains had prompted Karnataka to conserve water in its reservoirs to service standing crops and stop release of Cauvery waters to Tamil Nadu.

Karnataka finally released some water in the first week of September following a Supreme Court order. Accordingly, authorities at Mettur also released water to service standing crops in the Thanjavur delta.

However, Karnataka later stopped releasing water putting a strain on the water level in Mettur.

Cauvery Water Dispute: The Complete Coverage

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