The release of water from the Bhavanisagar dam into the Lower Bhavani Project (LBP) canal was increased to 2,100 cusecs on Monday, August 17, following persistent demands from farmers to save standing crops.
The dam caters to the irrigation needs of about 2.07 lakh acres under the LBP system in Erode, Karur and Tiruppur districts. It also serves ayacut areas under the Kalingarayan, Arakkankottai and Thadapalli canal systems. Owing to poor storage in the reservoir, water could not be released into the Kalingarayan Canal and the LBP Canal as scheduled. Following representations from farmers, water was released into the Kalingarayan canal for 15 days to help save standing crops.
LBP farmers had staged protests on three occasions demanding the release of water to save standing crops and meet the drinking water requirements of their cattle. On August 15, water was released for 15 days for special wetting of crops in 1,03,500 acres. The release into the LBP canal was initially fixed at 500 cusecs at 5 p.m. on August 15. The discharge was subsequently increased to 2,100 cusecs on Sunday and Monday. The release is scheduled to be maintained at 2,300 cusecs.
At 2 p.m. on Monday, the water level in the Bhavanisagar dam stood at 57.25 feet against its full reservoir level of 105 feet. The inflow was 1,233 cusecs. About 700 cusecs were being released into the Arakkankottai and Thadapalli canals for irrigation and 100 cusecs into the Bhavani river for drinking water requirements. The storage in the reservoir stood at 6.40 tmc ft against its total capacity of 32.80 tmc ft.
Published – August 17, 2026 06:45 pm IST
