The second biggest annual procession (Rath Yatra) of lord Jagannath across the country concluded peacefully at Ahmedabad at around 8.30 pm on Sunday in the presence of lakhs of devotees and amid tight security arrangements.
The major attraction of the 140th Rath Yatra was communal harmony as large number of Muslims not only welcomed but also joined the procession in different areas of the walled city of Ahmedabad. In its 15 km long route, the Rath Yatra passed through several Muslim dominated areas.
In the past, the State administration had witnessed communal tension during the annual religious event of the Hindu community. However, since last one and half decades not a single untoward incident occurred and all credit goes to the State administration.
Keeping the dark history of communal riots in the city, entire route of the Rath Yatra literally transformed into fortress. The Ahmedabad Rath Yatra is considered as the second only to Jagannath Puri in Odisha.
The 140th Rath Yatra commenced at around 9 am after Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani performed the religious ritual of ‘Pahind Vidhi’ with golden broom on the main chariot of lord Jagannath on the auspicious occasion of ‘Asadhi Bij’. Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel also joined the ‘Pahind Vidhi’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too performed the same ritual for 13 long years when he was Gujarat Chief Minister.
The procession kicked off from four century old Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area and lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra, set for their sojourn in decorated chariots along with hundreds. As the procession marched, people joined the procession.
Rupani invoked the blessings of lord Jagannath for peace and tranquility in every place and all round development and prosperity of the State. He said this is one festival in which people from all sections of the society join the procession and hence it is also called ‘Nagar Utsav’. Since Asadhi Bij (second lunar phase of bright moon) is the first day of the Kutchi calendar, he wished happy New Year to the people of Kutch. As per Gujarati Hindu calendar, Ashathi Bij is considered as beginning of monsoon and most parts of Gujarat in fact receive heavy to light rains including that of Ahmedabad on the auspicious day.
The Chariots of lord Jagannath were accompanied by 18 decorated elephants, more than 100 trucks, over 30 religious congregations and 20 singing troupes.
Around 20,000 security personnel, including Gujarat police, SRP, CRPF as well as Para-military forces were deployed enroute the procession. The entire route is being monitored by police through a network of CCTV cameras, connected with two control rooms, one in the city and another in the State capital Gandhinagar,” said joint commissioner of police JK Bhatt.
According to Bhatt, the procession was also monitored through camera embedded unmanned aerial vehicles which were connected with two control rooms one in Ahmedabad and another at the State capital. Apart from Ahmedabad, over 100 Rath Yatras were taken across Gujarat to mark the auspicious day of ‘Ashathi Bij’.