The opening of the Mettur Dam’s sluice gates by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday will provide some relief to Cauvery Delta farmers. In a normal year, the dam opens on June 12, and its gates are shut on January 28, giving the region’s agriculturists a 230-day irrigation window. This schedule is, however, contingent on the monsoon and the release of water in the Cauvery’s upstream by Karnataka. The Tamil Nadu government has ascribed this year’s delay to the deficit in the southwest monsoon and Karnataka’s failure to honour its........

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