On Thursday, President Ramnath Kovind greeted citizens on the occasion of Rath Yatra and prayed that Lord Jagannath would bring them peace, prosperity and happiness to everyone’s lives.
On Thursday, President Ramnath Kovind greeted citizens on the occasion of Rath Yatra and prayed that Lord Jagannath would bring them peace, prosperity and happiness to everyone’s lives.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also greeted everyone on the occasion of the Rath Yatra and prayed to Lord Jagannath.
"Best wishes to everyone on the special occasion of the Rath Yatra. We pray to Lord Jagannath and seek his blessings for the good health, happiness and prosperity of everyone. Jai Jagannath," Modi tweeted.
The holy Rath Yatra, also known as Gundicha Yatra of Lord Jagannatha and his siblings, commenced from today.
In the Rath Yatra, three chariots for the deities- Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannatha and Devi Subhadra are constructed every year. These sacred carriers are prepared, decorated and assembled by the traditional artists. The craftsmen follow strict rules to participate as servitors in preparing the chariots, which commence on the day of Akshay Tritiya.
The 142nd Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra coincides with the Rath Yatra in Puri and began in the wee hours today.
The nine-day annual chariot festival begins amid tight security cover put in place along the different localities in the city, through which the procesion will pass through after commencing from the Lord Jagannath Temple in Jamalpur locality.
The about 450-year-old temple is famed for its Rath Yatra, which is counted among the third most important and largest after the Ratha Yatra at Puri.
The Odisha government has deployed 10,000 security personnel in this holy town for the annual Rath Jatra of Lord Jagannath which will be attended by lakhs of people on Thursday, a senior official said Wednesday.
Anticipating a congregation of around 10 lakh devotees on the Rath Yatra day, 10,000 strong force have been deployed on the ground, while personnel of Indian Navy and Coast Guard will patrol in the sea, the official said.
As many as 142 platoons of Odisha police, about 1,000 officers of various ranks, 2,450 Home Guards, three company of RAF, two units of ODRAF, one unit NDRF, three company OSAF besides eight anti-sabotage teams, a bomb disposal squad with sniffer dogs have been deployed in Puri, the official said.
Two ADGP rank officers, five IGPs and 1,000 commandant rank officers will supervise the security arrangements.
"We are prepared for any situation apart from VVIP security," said Soumendra Priyadarshi, the IGP, Central Range, adding for smooth and safe conduct of the event a mock drill of pulling of chariots was also conducted.
Meanwhile, the Shree Jaganath Temple Administration Chief Administrator P K Mohapatra said: "We have already prepared a time line for the procession of deities and pulling of chariots. With cooperation of all the stake holders, rituals will go on smoothly."
"We will certainly meet the time line given by the administration. The servitors will fully cooperate with the administration to make the festival a grand success," said Binayak Dasmohapatra, a senior servitor.
Apart from police, different state government departments like health, urban and housing development department, sanitation and others are doing their best to make the occasion a grand success, said Mohapatra.
The three deities - Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannath and Devi Subhadra's chariots will be pulled by the devotees in presence of lakhs of people on the grand road.
With inputs from agencies
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 "Rath Yatra (Representational Image)")
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