The government’s decision to release of water for irrigation from the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur for samba cultivation on September 1, has evoked mixed response from the farmers, environmentalists and social activists.While a section of farmers and social activists have registered their dissent over the decision, the other group welcomed the decision citing the impending danger drought.The dissenters, including the Tamil Nadu Cauvery Delta Farmers Protection Association secretary, Sundara Vimalanathan and Tamizh Desiya Periyakkam president, P. Maniarasan called upon the government to ascertain the views of seasoned farmers and water management experts before taking the final call on lifting of the shutters for irrigation.They urged the official machinery to convene a meeting and deliberate the impact of the Super El Nino effect before arriving at a decision, in stead of ‘collecting’ opinions on this issue individually. On the other hand, progressive farmers such as G. Srinivasan of Ganapathy Agraharam, Papanasam taluk and M.R.Velu of Needamangalam, Tiruvarur district, an environmentalist, claimed it would be apt to release water at this juncture as the Delta region was reeling under severe water shortage crisis, both on the surface water and ground water fronts.Whether the move would help see through the samba cultivation or not could not be assured as of now, they said it would help avoid the Delta region slip into severe drought during the forthcoming summer season in view of the Super El Nino. Published - August 27, 2026 06:22 pm IST