Lord Jagannath Rathyatra begins in Ahmedabad

The 130th annual Lord Jagannath Rathyatra began in Ahmedabad on Monday with the rolling out of the 'rathas' from the temple amidst tight security arrangements.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi began the rathyatra procession after performing the pooja following which hundreds of devotees began pulling the chariots out of temple premises.

Police and paramilitary personnel have been placed at all sensitive points along the rathyatra route in Ahmedabad where the annual procession is the biggest, police sources said.

Roof-top vigilance, vehicle checking, monitoring, making preventive arrests and several other security preparations are already underway to ensure that the religious procession passes off peacefully, police said.

Thousands of people will throng the rathyatra route to have darshan of god.

The organisers of the rathyatra, the Lord Jagannath temple trust in Jamalpura area of Ahmedabad, have also decided to distribute a herbal drink as a refresher to the devotees who gather to cheer the chariots, a temple trust member said.

The herbal drink -- a concoction of coconut water and some herbs -- will be served to the devotees also keeping in mind the various water-borne diseases that people are already suffering from due to the rains.

The organisers have also got new gold coated attire stitched for Lord Jagannath's statue and have also adorned the statue with more ornamentation, he said.