145th Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad

Gandhinagar: 145th Rath Yatra in the city of Ahmedabad commenced today morning timely after the Chief Minister performed Pahind ceremony, cleaned the path of the Raths, using golden broom and pulled the rath to outside the Mandir in Jamalpur area of city.

The Chief Minister’s office clarified that Patel had turned covid negative in the second test which was conducted yesterday. A note released by his office further pointed out that Patel was anyway suffering from mild symptoms of Covid when he was tested positive. The note stated that the Chief Minister had kept the tradition of Pahind vidhi intact with his participation this morning.

It’s worth noting that as per convention the earstwhile royal family head in Odisha performs Pahind ceremony for Jagannath Puri’s Rath Yatra, while in Ahmedabad Rath Yatra, the Chief Minister of the State performs Pahind ceremony. It was speculated last evening that the Governor could perform Pahind vidhi as Patel was tested Covid positive.

Minister of State for Home, Harsh Sanghavi stated that Rath Yatra had commenced timely in grand manner. He added that the entire Rath Yatra route is covered by CCTV vigil. Drone, Body Worn Camera and Helicopter are also being used by Police in Rath Yatra this year, he added. It’s worth noting that the conventional route of Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad includes some communally sensitive areas where a large number of Muslims reside. The yatra procession has a history of communal violence, particularly in the decade of 1980s. Once in 1990s, the Raths of Rath Yatra were given bullet proof cover to avoid any attack in communally sensitive areas.

Conventional Rath Yatra processions with huge participation by citizens could not take place in the previous two years due to Covid pandemic. The Rath Yatra starts with the march of elephants, followed by decorated trucks through which prasadi distribution takes place. Akharians perform stunts during the procession. Three Raths of Bhagwan Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra are followed by bhajan mandlis. The Rath Yatra mainly takes place in two phases. In the first phase the Yatra proceeds from Jagannath Mandir to Saraspur. A huge lunch is hosted by the people of Saraspur in the afternoon. Later in the second phase, the Rath Yatra returns to Mandir, passing through some communally sensitive areas. Rath Yatra as per convention begins at around 7 am and returns to Mandir by around 7 pm.

As many as 25,000 strong police and paramilitary troupes are deployed for the security bandobast of Rath Yatra this year. Union Home minister Amit Shah had performed Mangala aarti early in the morning at Jagannath Mandir. DeshGujarat