Chennai, Jul 19 (UN) In the 84-year history of Mettur dam, Mr Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday had the honour of becoming the first Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to open the sluice gates and released water for irrigation, much to the delight of farmers in delta region.
Mr Palaniswami, accompanied by few other Ministers and Salem district officials, personally visited the dam and opened its sluice gates, by showering flower petals, as the water gushed out in full force to enable farmers in Cauvery delta districts take up samba crop cultivation.
He said initially, 2000 cusecs of water was released from the dam and it would be stepped up to 20,000 cusecs during the course of the day.