Chennai, April 30 (IANS): Tiruvannamalai District Collector Bhaskara Pandian on Tuesday opened the sluice gates of the Shenbagathoppu dam near Polur in Tamil Nadu.

The move followed requests from the farmers to irrigate 8350.40 acres of paddy fields in the region.

Officials in the state Water Resources Department told IANS that water will be released into the river and distributed in the left and right bank canals from the pick-up dam.

Every day, on average, 105 cusecs of water will be released for farming. Bananas, paddy, and groundnut are the major crops grown in the villages around the dam.

The Shenbagathoppu dam built in 2007 has a total storage capacity of 287 mcft of water and a height of 62 feet. It will benefit farmers in around 200 villages in Polur taluk.

The officials advised the farmers to utilise the water judiciously, as it is required for drinking purposes in the district as well.

Water from Kuppanatham and Sathanur dams was released in March for the irrigation of over 45,000 acres of farmland in the district.

At present, the excess water from the dam is discharged into 48 tanks -- Polur (18), Arani (12), Arcot (9), Cheyyar (8), and Vandavasi (1) -- through four check dams in the district, including Alliyabhad and Karnakur check dams.

The officials told IANS that the release of water will recharge the water table in and around these villages.

There are 697 PWD tanks in the district with 24 tanks having full capacity of water, 40 tanks having 75 to 100 per cent capacity, 80 tanks having 75 to 50 per cent capacity, while 68 tanks are completely dry.