With the storage position in its Mettur reservoir reaching a relatively comfortable level, the Tamil Nadu Government started releasing Cauvery water from the Mettur reservoir, but some farmers say they have not been given enough time to prepare for the long season ahead. The Government just gave them five days' notice to begin cultivation for long-term paddy crop, and many who were resigned to a long delay in the release of water were caught off-guard by Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa's announcement on August 7. "The timing of the release is appropriate, as samba (long term paddy) normally begins in mid-August, but the announcement could have come 10 or 15 days earlier," said Tamil Nadu Farmers' Association general secretary K Balakrishnan.