The 145th annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath kicked off on Friday morning in Ahmedabad with much fanfare and tight security. In order to see the deity and take part in the fervour of the religious yatra, thousands of devotees from all over the state are swarming the routes of the procession.
People are much enthusiastic about this year’s procession because a full-fledged Rath Yatra is being held after a gap of two years due to the pandemic.
Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel performed the ‘Pahind Vidhi’ ceremony, which is a symbolic ritual of cleaning the path for the chariots with a golden broom, prior to the start of the Rath Yatra. Following the ritual, Lord Jagannath’s three chariots, his brother Balbhadra, and his sister Subhadra began the annual yatra from the 400-year-old Jagannath temple in the Jamalpur area.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah too performed the ‘Mangla aarti’ (auspicious ritual to pay obeisance to the Lord) of the deities in the temple in the early hours today.
Besides the three chariots, this year’s celebrations comprise nearly 15 decorated elephants, 100 trucks with tableaux, members of religious groups, akharas (local gyms), and singing troupes. The procession will return to the temple at around 8.30 pm after passing through an 18-km-long designated route in the Old City.
In 2020, a symbolic rath yatra was organised on the premises of the Lord Jagannath temple, after the Gujarat High Court denied permission for the usual public procession in view of the pandemic. Last year too the pandemic caused only the three chariots and two other vehicles to covered the entire route and returned without the usual festivity.
The yatra (procession) is carried out every year on Ashadhi Bij, the second day of Ashadh (Monsoon season) month, as per the Hindu calendar.
According to officials, as many as 25,000 security personnel, including those from the Central Armed Police Forces, are deployed at strategic locations along the yatra route.