Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay opened the sluice gates of the Stanley Reservoir in Mettur for delta irrigation, on Tuesday (September 1, 2026).Around 10.15 a.m. on Tuesday, the Chief Minister reached Salem Airport at Kamalapuram. Then, he reached Mettur on road via Thoppur, Mecheri, and Kunjandiyur and released Cauvery water from the dam at 11.30 a.m. and threw flowers on the water that gushed out.Mr. Vijay also interacted with farmers and received petitions from them. The farmers urged him to open water from the dam for more days instead of the announced 45 days and also sought steps from the government to divert Mettur’s surplus water to water bodies in Thalaivasal.Later, he inspected the photo exhibition organised by the Water Resources Department (WRD) and officials explained the ongoing works in the delta region. He also inspected the dam powerhouse. Then, Mr. Vijay left for Salem airport from the inspection bungalow at Mettur around 2 p.m.Dam opened after 80-day delayTraditionally, water is released from the Mettur dam on June 12 every year and the dam is closed on January 28 after 230 days of discharge of water for irrigation. While a total of 330 TMC is required for irrigation, the date of opening the dam’s sluices changes depending on the availability of water in the dam.