Madikeri, (DHNS): Kodagu received heavy rain on Tuesday morning. As a result, hundreds of acres of paddy fields were inundated in Bhahamandala, Talacauvery and Napoklu.

River Cauvery is in spate at Paluru, Kottamudi, Balamuri, Siddapura, Karadigodu, Kannangala and Puliyeri. In the wake of forecast of heavy rain for two more days, Karadigodu villagers, dwelling near the river basin, have been told to move to safer locations.

Gusty winds have uprooted trees in many places. However, the intensity of rain has decreased in Virajpet and Gonikoppa. Floods have receded in Lakshmanatheertha and Keere Stream.

As on Tuesday at 8.30 am, the quantity of rain is as follows: Bhagamandala - 122.2 mm, Madikeri - 70.2 mm, Napoklu - 66.6 mm, Srimangala - 92.2 mm and Shantalli - 70 mm.

Belagavi city and surrounding villages continued to receive mild intermittent showers on Tuesday. It also led in water clogging on roads and some of the low-lying areas.

Belagavi has been been receiving mild drizzle since the last couple of days. Overcast conditions remained during the entire day on Tuesday and due to sporadic rain, chilly weather prevailed in the city.

Khanapur taluk, which falls in the foot hills of Western Ghats, also witnessed intermittent showers with occasional heavy spells.

Moderate rain lashed Gokak town for nearly 45 minutes.

In Yadgir district, hundreds of acres of fertile land have been submerged following release of water from Sangambanda reservoir on Telangana-Karnataka border due to heavy rain in the region. As a result, the farmers have incurred crop loss worth crores of rupees. The farmers claimed that the state government has been silent on the issue so far. on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Centre of tapping phones of Congress leaders in the state.

“It is not the state government, but the Centre that is tapping phones,” Siddaramaiah told reporters, reacting to BJP leader R Ashoka’s allegation that the Congress government had tapped the phones of BJP and JD(S) leaders. “Tapping phones of opposition party leaders is something our government has never done and will never do. But the Centre has been tapping our phones, which the state BJP is not aware of. We haven’t played it up, because it’s a small thing,” he said.

Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy, too, claimed that the Centre had resorted to espionage. “It’s true that the phones of 30-35 Congress leaders are being tapped. It’s been happening for many days,” Reddy told DH. He, however, refused to name leaders whose phones were under surveillance.

This is not the first time the state Congress is alleging that phones were being tapped. Late last month, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) vice-president Prof B K Chandrashekhar accused that the Centre was using a mobile company to tap phones.

Ashoka dared Home Minister Ramalinga Reddy to institute an inquiry. “The ruling Congress had tapped 162 mobile numbers belonging to BJP and JD(S) leaders. I was a home minister. I have reliable information,” Ashoka said. “Phones belonging to terrorists or rowdies can be tapped, but there’s no provision to tap phones of politicians. Let there be a departmental inquiry or a CBI probe into this,” he said.