The Mettur dam might soon become dry. The PWD officials say release of water from the dam for drinking water purposes exceeds the inflow and it might dry up in a few weeks, reported The Times of India.
The water level in the dam on Monday stood at 25.140 feet. The officials said that the inflow was less than 14 cusecs but the outflow was 500 cusecs.
A PWD official told TOI that they will not be releasing water from the dam if the water level goes below 22 feet.
The water from the dam provides drinking water to several districts like Saelm, Namakkal, Karur, Erode, Trichy, Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam.
Some even blame Karnataka for taking water from the river for Madheswaran Malai water project.
Many parts of western and east-Southern in Tamil Nadu are facing drought situation since March.
The water level in Mettur dam started reducing after the southwest and northeast monsoons failed.
Many of the villagers dig up the riverbed in search of water but often find it to be dirty and contaminated.
There have been cases of diseases like diarrhoea and fever in the villages due to contaminated water, reported TOI.
It has also affected the fishermen in the villages.
A fisherman told TOI that they usually renew their licenses every year but this year they have not contacted the district administration for renewal.