Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging that the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka has lost its popularity so soon after coming to power, veteran BJP leader B S Yediyurappa on Tuesday announced that his party leaders will travel across the state to protest against the "failures" of this administration.

The former chief minister also alleged that despite pressing issues like drought, the government has adopted an anti-people policy instead of addressing them.

"At the meeting of important leaders today, we discussed various issues. In a very short period this government has lost its popularity and has reached a situation where they are facing a rap from the people," Yediyurappa said.

Speaking to reporters after inaugurating the party office-bearers meeting here, he said, "The state is affected by drought. Despite several burning issues, this government without addressing them, is continuing by adopting anti-people policy."

It has been decided that after the Ganapati festival (on September 18), BJP leaders will travel across the state, Yediyurappa, who is also the member of the party's parliamentary board, said. "We will gather thousands of party workers in every district and will work according to our plan of action."

"Discussions are still on, all our party leaders and office-bearers have given their suggestions, we will decide on our plan of action in the days to come," he added.

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Mumbai (PTI): Commercial operations on the first phases of Mumbai Metro corridors 9 and 2B began on Wednesday morning, a day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inaugurated the mass-transit routes, officials said.

While the Metro 9 marks the first direct connectivity between a suburb in Mumbai and a part of Thane city in the metropolitan region, the Line 2B will provide the first metro connectivity on the Harbour Line in Mumbai.

The 5.6-km elevated Phase 1 stretch of Metro Line 9 comprises four stations -- Dahisar East, Pandurangwadi, Miragaon and Kashigaon. The 5.53-km Phase 1 of Metro Line 2B has five stations, including Deshbhakt N G Acharya Udyan (Diamond Garden), Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Chowk, Deonar, Mankhurd and Maharashtra Nagar–Mandale.

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According to the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), Line 9 is expected to cut travel time between Mira-Bhayandar in Thane district and Mumbai to around 30 minutes from the current one to two hours. Built at Rs 6,607 crore, it will eventually provide seamless connectivity to south Mumbai through interlinking with other lines.

With the addition of the two new lines, Mumbai’s operational Metro network has expanded to six corridors, including Line 1 (Ghatkopar-Andheri-Versova), Line 2A (Andheri West-Dahisar East), Line 7 (Dahisar East-Andheri East) and the underground Line 3 (Colaba-Bandra Kurla Complex-SEEPZ).

As per MMRDA, the revised timetable for Line 2A and Line 7 came into effect on Wednesday, aimed at improving frequency, predictability and overall commuter experience.

It said that with the inauguration of Line 9, Metro Line 2A will now operate as a standalone corridor between Andheri West and Dahisar East, with services from 5.50 am till around 11 pm and a peak frequency of about six minutes.

The integrated Line 7-9 corridor (Gundavali to Kashigaon), spanning 19.79 km, will operate from 5.50 am to 11 pm, with a peak frequency of under six minutes and 276 services on weekdays.

Metro Line 2B (Phase 1) services commenced at 6 am and will run till around 10.30 pm at intervals of approximately nine-and-a-half minutes, operating 209 services daily, according to officials.

MMRDA said the integration of Line 7 with Line 9 enables direct connectivity from Andheri East to Mira-Bhayandar, while Lines 2A and 7 will function as separate corridors.

A seamless interchange facility at Dahisar station will allow passengers to switch between Lines 2A and 7 without exiting the “paid” (ticketed) area.