Even as the farmers were planning to confront the district administration, the Collector made the announcement as the first thing in the meeting much to the joy of participants.
Dr. Subramanian said that the storage in the Vaigai dam had reached 68.21 feet and water would be released around 11 a.m. on Saturday.
Defending the rationale for delaying the release, the Collector said that the government had to assess whether water would be available for the entire season.
He said that it would not be of any use if water was available during the initial stages but not available until harvest.
The farmers had earlier petitioned the Collector for release of water as the combined Periyar credit crossed 6,000 mcft, after which water would generally be released on November 21.
Officials of the Public Works Department said that 4,060 mcft would be used from the combined Periyar credit with the release of 3,000 mcft to the river, 1,000 mcft to the canals and another 60 mcft for drinking purpose.
The Collector also expressed hope that the water availability would improve further as meteorological department had predicted rains in the region for the next three days.
Full storage
He also informed the farmers that 162 tanks in the district had reached full capacity and 224 tanks had water at 75 per cent capacity.
The Collector also assured them that the district had adequate stock of fertilizer for the season.
The storage in the Vaigai dam had reached 68.21 feet and water will be released around 11 a.m. today, says Madurai Collector

Source: The Hindu