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The 124th procession of Lord Jagannath's traditional rath yatra (procession) in Ahmedabad on Saturday was a scene of communal harmony with Muslims welcoming it at several places along the route and some fasting praying for its peaceful passage.
The rath yatra was flagged off by Gujarat Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel from the Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur.
Caparisoned elephants and beautifully-decked up trucks carrying devotees formed part of the procession with the three trundling chariots being pulled by the devout amidst the singing of bhajans (hymns) and beating of drums.
Members of the Tajiya Committee of Ahmedabad welcomed the rath yatra at Kamalchowk area in Jamalpur and distributed 124 kgs of jalebis commemorating as many years of the procession in the city and also presented a memento (a picture of Mahatma Gandhi) to Mahant Rameshwardasji, chief priest of the Lord Jagannath temple in the city.
All through its route stretching to several kilometres and passing through some of the communally-sensitive areas in the walled city, Muslims made arrangements to welcome the rath yatra comprising chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balabhadra and their sister Subhadra, commemorating the journey of Lord Krishna from Gokul to Mathura.
Many Muslims in the city had kept a fast, praying for peaceful passage of the rath yatra, even as lakhs of devotees thronged the streets to witness the procession.
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