The 15-day special release of water from Bhavanisagar Dam into the Kalingarayan Canal, from July 14 to July 28, to save standing crops ended on Tuesday (July 28, 2026). Farmers have now urged the Water Resources Department (WRD) to continue the supply for another 15 days, stating that water had not reached the tail-end areas of the irrigation system.Usually, water is released into the Kalingarayan Canal for irrigation from June 16. However, the release was not made this year because of inadequate storage at the Bhavanisagar Dam. The delay has affected irrigation in 15,763 acres under the Kalingarayan ayacut.Following representations from farmers, the WRD had released water into the canal from July 14 to July 28 as a special wetting to protect crops including sugarcane and banana.Farmers said the prevailing drought conditions had prevented water from reaching the tail-end of the canal. They have submitted a petition to WRD officials seeking an extension of the special water release. At 2 p.m. on Wednesday (July 29, 2026), the water level in the Bhavanisagar Dam stood at 55.26 feet against its full reservoir level of 105 feet. The reservoir had a storage of 5.81 tmcft against its full capacity of 32.8 tmcft. The inflow was 16 cusecs and the total outflow was 755 cusecs. Published - July 29, 2026 07:01 pm IST