The water level in the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) dam on Sunday came down to 32 ft following which, the water discharge to Tadapalli-Arakkankottai Canal was stopped.
The reservoir is the lifeline for the farmers of the district. More than 2.07 lakh acres in the new ayacut as well as nearly 40,000 acres in the old ayacut along Tadapalli-Arakkankottai and Kalingarayan Canals depend on it. Due to the failure of the southwest monsoon, the water level in the dam came down gradually and stood at 32 ft on Sunday as against its total storage level of 120 ft, including 15 ft slush.
For Tadapalli-Arakkankottai Canal, 700 cusecs of water was being released from April 15 while 600 cusecs was released for Kalingarayan Canal from June 16. However, the water release to Tadapalli-Arakkankottai was stopped from 8 a.m. on Sunday. At the same time, water release to Kalingarayan canal was increased to 750 cusecs to facilitate production of 2 mw power in the hydel power plants. With the water level dipping, the temples that were submerged in the water spread area of the dam have become visible.
Meanwhile, farmers have expressed concern over the fate of 58 combined drinking water schemes, which depended on the dam. They felt that the water release for irrigation might be fully stopped soon.PWD sources said that 100 cusecs of water would be released in the river in the coming days for drinking water schemes and to fill the tanks and ponds along the river bank.
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