Devotees in large numbers belonging to various communities took part in the ‘rath yatra’ of lord Jagannath which was held on Sunday.The Rath Yatra Committee of Jugsalai organised a grand ‘rath yatra’ during which the lord Jagannath was worshipped with elder brother Bala-Rama and sister Subhadra.

“It is one of the oldest rath yatras taken out in the city. For us, it is the most revered event of the year. Every year, the yatra is taken out with pomp and show. The rath yatra symbolises taking our body in the right direction,” said Bhagwan Das, priest of the mandir at Jugsalai.The rath yatra began in the evening and it took more than two hours to reach its destination. Children, dressed as ‘Sri Krishna’ and ‘Balarama’ and other mythological characters participated in the procession, were the cynosure of all eyes. The yatras were also taken out from Northern Town area, Baradwari, Golmuri and Baghbera.

It may be mentioned that similar on lines of Rath Yatra at Puri, the Rath Yatra Committee at Jugsalai has been taking out the march from the last seven decades. Such is the popularity of yatra that a place in Jugsalai has been named ‘rath gali’ after it.On the other hand, like every year, another city-based Rath Yatra Festival Committee took out rath yatra from Baridih. In this yatra, too, people in large number participated to seek the blessings. The devotees had made a beeline to witness the yatra. Several devotees were present on the temple premises on Sunday to take part in the journey.