Auspicious Rath Yatra was celebrated at Shrivani Kshetra of the KISS here on Saturday amidst religious fervour and gaiety. As many as 30,000 devotees participated in pulling the chariots of lord Jagannath, lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.
Pahandi and other rituals were followed by procession of the deities from the temple sanctum sanctorum to the chariots. The formal procedure began early in the morning as per tradition of the Puri Shreemandir. The devotees gathered to pull the chariots in the afternoon after KISS founder Achyuta Samanta completed the holy ritual of Chherapahanra (ceremonial sweeping) on the chariots.
A unique feature of Ghosayatra here is that only females pull the chariot of Goddess Subhadra.