The 148th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath began in Ahmedabad on Friday morning, with thousands of devotees joining in for a glimpse of the deity.

The raths or chariots of Lord Jagganath, his brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra were pulled out of the Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area of the city by the Khalasi community as per the age-old tradition.

The grand procession of the three chariots rolled on from the 400-year-old temple, and it is expected to return by 8 pm after making its way through the old city, including a few communally sensitive areas.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his family members participated in the morning prayers at the Jagannath temple, while Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel performed ‘pahind vidhi’, a traditional ceremony of symbolic cleaning of roads by a golden broom.

The procession, usually comprising 18 elephants, 100 trucks, ‘bhahan-mandlis’ (devotional groups) and 30 akhadas (local gymnasiums), will cover a distance of 16 km during the day. Several trucks have been decorated as tableaux on different themes.

Throughout the day, lakhs of devotees are expected to gather on both sides of the route to pay obeisance to Lord Jagannath and his siblings.

Police officials said they have made elaborate security arrangements for the procession.

Nearly 23,800 security personnel have been deployed in the city to guard the annual Rath Yatra, which is expected to draw 14-15 lakh people.

According to a government release, an Artificial Intelligence-based surveillance system will be used for the first time to prevent stampede-like situations.

The AI-based system would notify the police and fire department in case of a fire along the route, besides alerting the police control room when too many people are gathered in a particular area, it said.

About 4,500 security personnel will walk with the procession on the entire 16-km route, while 1,931 personnel will be deployed for traffic management, said officials. Several roads will remain closed to normal traffic.

Senior police officials will keep a watch on the Rath Yatra procession using 2,872 body-worn cameras linked with the control room, 41 drones and 96 cameras installed at different locations and 25 watch towers.

Ahead of the 148th Rath Yatra, police had organised 177 meetings of peace committees, 235 meetings of mohalla committees, 57 meetings of women’s committees as well as 21 meetings with various religious leaders with the aim of maintaining communal unity and harmony, the release had said.

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