Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Ahmedabad city in progress amid curfew

The 144th annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath in Ahmedabad city is in progress amid a curfew on its route in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead of a massive crowd during the traditional Rath Yatra, this time people have been barred from taking part in it due to Covid19.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah had performed Mangala Arti early this morning. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had performed “Pahind” rituals before the start of today’s Rath Yatra from Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area of Ahmedabad.

Gujarat government and temple authorities have made all the arrangements for the rath yatra without any public participation.

Thus, the 11 decorated elephants, hundreds trucks and Bhajan Mandalis are not part of this Rath Yatra.

Three chariots and two other vehicles of temple trust have been allowed in today’s Rath Yatra.

Tight security arrangements have been made, so that the yatra passes off peacefully with strict adherence to Covid-19 protocols.

To stop the people from gathering along the route, a curfew has been imposed on the entire 19 kilometer Rath Yatra route.

The authorities have planned to conclude today’s Rath Yatra within five hours instead of the usual time of around 12 hours. .