146th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath starts in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad: The 146th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath commenced on Tuesday morning in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city amid tight security as lakhs of devotees flocked the 18-km route of the procession to catch a glimpse of the deity.

The Gujarat Police have for the first time in the Rath Yatra used 3D mapping technology to monitor the entire route and also deployed anti-drone technology to ensure no unauthorised drones are used during the event, as per a senior police official.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel in the morning performed 'Pahind Vidhi', a symbolic ritual of cleaning the way for the chariots using a golden broom, following which the chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra embarked on the yatra from the 400-year-old Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur area.

Before the annual event started, Union Home Minister Amit Shah performed 'mangla aarti' (auspicious ritual to pay obeisance to the deity) in the temple early Tuesday morning.

Besides the three chariots, the procession comprised nearly 15 decorated elephants, 100 trucks with tableaux and singing troupes.

The Rath Yatra is taken out every year on Ashadhi Bij, the second day of Ashad month, as per the Hindu calendar.

The procession will return to the temple by 8.30 pm on Tuesday after passing through the Old City, including some communally sensitive areas like Jamalpur, Kalupur, Shahpur and Dariyapur.

More than 26,000 personnel drawn from the city police, Home Guards, State Reserve Police and para-military forces were deployed at strategic locations along the 18-km-long yatra route to prevent any untoward incident, as per officials.