A statement released by Ms Jayalalithaa today said that it was customary to release water from Mettur dam from the 12th of June, with necessary intervals, till the 28th of January of the following year depending on the water reserve.

But this year, Mettur dam was opened for release of water on the 6th of June to enable the Cauvery delta farmers to take up Kuruvai cultivation, ahead of the scheduled opening date of June 12th acceding to the requests from the farmers' community. It was a record of sorts as for the first time after Indian independence water from the dam was released ahead of schedule.

Meanwhile, it was planned to stop the release of water from Mettur dam on the 28th of January as usual this year. But acceding to the request of the farmers of Thanjavur and Thiruvayaru divisions, the Chief Minister ordered the release of water from tomorrow till the 5th of February. This would benefit the 750 Hectares and 1,700 hectares of agricultural land respectively in  the two areas.