Two days ahead of the 145th Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra in old city Ahmedabad, the city police announced traffic diversions and laid out the final map for the 18-kilometer yatra procession on July 1.
Large number of devotees are expected to arrive after a two-year absence due to the pandemic.
The Ahmedabad Traffic Police on Wednesday laid out the route map of the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra from Jamalpur Darwaza to Saraspur and back to Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur.
The yatra is scheduled to begin by 7 am after Union Home Minister Amit Shah will conduct an aarti at the temple premises and the procession is expected to return to the temple by 6 pm.
According to officials of the Jagannath Temple trust, around 3-4 lakh devotees across Gujarat are expected to join the procession. Over 25,000 personnel of Gujarat Police and other security agencies will also be deployed during the yatra on July 1.
As per Ahmedabad police, the final route for the yatra procession is Jamalpur Chakla-Vaishya Sabha-Gollimda-Astodia Chakla-Madangopal ni haveli-Raipur Chakla-Khadia Juni Gate-Khadia crossroads-Panchkuva-Kalupur circle-Kalupur bridge-Saraspur. The route from Saraspur would be Kalupur bridge-Kalupur circle-Prem Darwaza-Jordan Road-Bechardas Lashkarini Haveli-Dilli Darwaza-Shahpur Darwaza-Shahpur Chakla-Rangila Chowki-Otampol-RC High School-Dilli Chakla-Ghee Kanta Road-Pankor Naka-Kuvara-Chandla Ole-Danapith-Gollimda-Khamasa-back to the temple.
“The routes mentioned in the map will be shut for a few hours. As yatra proceeds, the roads will be opened. Commuters can use the alternate route of Raikhad Char Rasta to Victoria Garden to riverfront to flower market to Jamalpur bridge in order to travel to Geeta Mandir Road. Similarly, commuters travelling towards Paldi can use the diverted route of Astodia Char Rasta to Geeta Mandir to Jamalpur bridge to Sardar bridge. Similar diversions will be facilitated by the police on the route of Rath Yatra,” said Mayanksinh Chavda, joint police commissioner, Ahmedabad Traffic Police, in a statement.