Gujarat Police heaved a sigh of relief as the 136th Rath Yatra of lord Jagannath completed peacefully at 9 pm on Wednesday. Though there has been not a single riot incident recorded over a decade during the annual religious event organised on every Asahdhi Bij, the police remain on edge as the procession passes through communally sensitive areas.
Rath Yatra started at around 9 am and passed through various parts of the city for almost 12 hours amidst gusto. Thousands of devotees participated in the procession and followed three specially designed raths.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi pulled the first rath after performing customary Pahind ritual for the 12th consecutive year. As per tradition, the Gujarat Chief Minister has privilege to perform the holy ritual after which the Rath Yatra begins.
This year Rath Yatra had drawn attention because this was the first time ever police had decided to deploy two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to monitor the procession apart from 15000 cops.
Meanwhile, Modi also attended another religious event at a temple near mountain town Junagadh. During the function, he said that a wrong impression had been created about saints that they are just wanderers living on frugal needs.