Mettur dam is situated at Mettur in the district of Salem, Tamilnadu, India. This is one of the largest dam in India. The presence of Mettur dam makes it one of the important Tourist places in Tamilnadu. The value mettur dam attaches to the asset of Tamilnadu is priceless.

Constructed in the year 1934, this dam has a rich history. Like other dams of India its construction history too is interesting and lengthy. Mettur was a result of disputes that arose on the water usage of River Kaveri.

The dimensions

1700 m (5600 ft.) in length, this dam is beautifully built in the Salem district of Tamilnadu. The hydroelectricity project of the dam is huge. The dam creates a Stanley reservoir. This Stanley reservoir is named after Sir, George Stanley. His Excellency Sir Stanley was the guide behind the construction of this dam.

The maximum capacity of the dam is 120 ft. This volume of water capacity is quite huge and extra ordinary.

The Kaveri dispute

India is a land of rivers. The rivers of India are all rain fed. The usage of water of these rivers is distributed amongst various states and provinces. However there are disputes too. The Mettur Dam ,largest dam in India,has always been in news because of the Cauvery water dispute between the States of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

• Kaveri water dispute is an important chapter to be studied, while learning about the dams.
• The mettur dam sometimes is devoid of water in certain seasons because of other channeled dams in the nearby places.
• The states of Karnataka and Tamilnadu had serious issues over this disputed kaveri water.
• The Centre had to step in the matter and asked Karnataka to release the Dam’s water.
• Supreme Court then ordered Tamil Nadu to co-operate with the CRA and finally Tamil Nadu gave in. The supreme court of India came to a verdict on the judicial distribution of Kaveri River’s water. But the decision was again challenged as it was unsatisfactory.
• Tamil Nadu Chief Minister then directed the officials to immediately file a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a direction to Karnataka to release Tamil Nadu its due share of water.
• On Sep 28, 2012, the Supreme Court slammed the Karnataka government for failing to comply with the directive of the CRA. Left with no other option, Karnataka started releasing the Dam’s water. This lead to wide protests and violence in Karnataka.
• Thus, this Mettur dam became life supporting system for Tamilnadu.