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Bengaluru, July 31: Denying irregularities in covid-19 equipment purchase by the Karnataka government, the state unit of the BJP has issued legal notices to Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar demanding that they apologize or face a defamation suit. 

The notices seek a public apology for the allegations levelled against the government on irregularities in the procurement of Covid-19 equipment and supplies. 

Both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, have been doggedly pursuing allegations of corruption against the BJP government and have demanded a judicial inquiry. 

BJP general secretary N Ravi Kumar said that while the Congress leaders claimed that Rs 4,157 crore was spent during Covid-19, they also allege that the government has not responded to any of the 20 letters written by them. "If the government has not provided any answer to the Opposition, where did they get the figures from," he said.

None of the allegations of corruption is specific and the statements made are factually incorrect. "These statements, without any basis, have been issued calculatedly to lower the image and damage the reputation of the government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, representatives of the party and the ministers in the government," the notice issued on behalf of Ravi Kumar read.

Bengaluru, Aug 9: Swollen rivers and flood-like situation continue to threaten lives and property in several parts of Karnataka that have been ravaged by torrential rains over the last few days.

Though there has been a respite from the downpour in some parts, rivers continue to flow above the danger mark, inundating low lying areas in several parts of Malnad, coastal and interior Karnataka.

There are also reports of continued landslides in hilly areas of Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru.

In Dakshina Kannada, heavy rains have submerged several areas in Bantwala and Belthangady, among others, with the Netravati river overflowing and also water being released from nearby dams.

Officials said incessant rains in Cauvery river catchment areas have led to increased inflow in the Krishna Raja Sagara dam in Mandya district. Water is being released from it and people living in low lying areas have been warned, they said.

There is also a flood-like situation in Najanagudu and nearby areas of Mysuru as the swollen Kapila river has inundated roads connecting Ooty in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, with water being released from Kabini dam.

There has been some respite from heavy rains in certain parts of Kodagu, which has been ravaged by floods and landslides. However, several areas of the district continue to be in deluge with the Cauvery and Lakshmana Tirtha rivers overflowing due to rains in the hilly areas.

There are also reports of landslides in some parts of the district.

Meanwhile, continuing rains are hampering the search operation by NDRF and authorities to locate five people, including the priest at Talacauvery, the origin of the river Cauvery, who had gone missing due to massive landslides at Bramhagiri hills on Wednesday night.

There are also reports of landslides at a few places in Charmadi ghat region of Chikkamagaluru and the road connecting to Dakshina Kannada has been closed temporarily.

Though Belagavi district has had some respite from the heavy rains, flood like situation continues to persist as the Krishna river and its tributaries are swollen due to continued inflows because of rains in neighbouring Maharashtra.

Inflow has also increased to the Tungabhadra dam of Ballari district due to rains in the catchment areas of Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru.

Authorities have alerted people living in low lying areas about opening dam gates to release water anytime with rising inflow.

There is a similar flood like situation in parts of Yadgir, Raichur and Bagalkote districts with water being released from various dams.

The state government has released ₹ 50 crore for emergency relief and has announced ₹ 10,000 as immediate relief each to affected families.

An amount of ₹ 5 lakh has been announced for completely damaged houses, while in the case of partially damaged ones, relief will be distributed considering the extent of damage.