Gujarat CM, Deputy CM offer prayers at Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rup on Thursday offered prayers at the Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad on the occasion of Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra and performed the 'Pahind' ritual, the symbolic path cleng by golden broom at the temple before the start of the procession.

Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel also offered prayers in the temple along with Rup to seek blessings of Lord Jagannath for good health, happiness and prosperity for all.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the early hours of Thursday participated in a 'Mangala Aarti' at the historic Jagannath Temple here, ahead of the annual Gujarat Jagannath Rath Yatra.

Clad in a white shirt and yellow overcoat, Shah who was accomped by his wife Sonal Shah to offer prayers to Lord Jagannath.

Meanwhile, talking about the security arrangements in Ahmedabad during the chariots procession, IGP Soumya Priyadarshai said, "The police and other administrations are all set to make the Jagannath Rath Yatra successful. All arrangements are in place. As far as the police arrangement is concerned, we have placed all elaborate arrangements. Around 10,000 policemen have been deployed, which is being supervised by Additional DGP (Law and Order). Besides, ADGP (Railways) is also looking after Railways and Coastal securities."

The nine-day annual chariot festival began today amid tight security cover put in place along with the different localities in the city, through which the procession 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.

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.

Thousands of handcrafters work for several months and prepare everything from scratch. Starting from cutting the wood to painting it and putting different parts of Rath together, everything is done with complete authenticity.

The prime attractions of the Rath Yatra of Jagannatha are the elaborate chariots. The decorative wooden idols of the three deities are pulled and accomped by chants and conches, which can be heard all around.

( With inputs from ANI )