AHMEDABAD, July 11, 2013: The city was swept with devotion on Wednesday as Lord Jagannath, Balram and their sister, Subhadra, left the temple at Jamalpur to visit their maternal uncle's home in Saraspur. Later in the day, the rain gods greeted the three deities with a light shower as the Rath Yatra, accompanied by thousands of devotees, began its return journey.

It was a show of piety and communal harmony as the procession got rousing welcome in areas like Shahpur and Dariapur, traditionally considered communally 'sensitive'. People from all communities came out in large numbers to have a glimpse of the Lord. City police also heaved a sigh of relief as their elaborate preparation ahead of the yatra paid off and no major incident was reported during the Lord's journey.

The yatra was flagged off by chief minister Narendra Modi who performed the traditional Pahind ritual by clearing the path for the divinities. He gave a ceremonial pull to Lord Jagannath's chariot at 6:55 am amidst thousands of devotees. Modi was performing the Pahind ritual for the record 12th time. He said he considered himself fortunate to have got the chance to serve the Lord.

Earlier in the day, the eye covers of the deities were taken off at 4:30 am puja as devotees savoured the once-in-a-year prasad of khichdi and gavarfali.

City mayor Meenaxi Patel greeted the temple mahant, Dilipdasji, at the AMC's Danapith office where an elaborate shamiana was erected. It was Patel's first yatra as mayor.

A Jagannathji temple trustee, who was part of the organizing committee, said it took more than two hours for the chariots to come out of Jamalpur Darwaja as the trucks and akhadas had taken longer than expected to assemble in a procession.

"Further, rain after the lunch break, also halted the yatra. However, it was only an hour late as the three chariots reached to the temple soon after 9 pm. More than 50,000 persons participated in the main procession in various capacities and more than 10 lakh people witnessed it. No major incident was reported," said the trustee.

For policemen, technology played a major role in keeping an eye on the mammoth procession. This year, the state police had introduced two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) named Netra for surveillance. They performed successfully. In addition, 25 vans with camera and control room, and 80 CCTVs along the route kept senior policemen in the control rooms at the city police commissioner's office and Shahibaug annexe updated with the Rath Yatra's progress.

"In the past three years, the yatra has received tremendous support from Muslims, right from greeting of the chariots to cheering the akhada and bhajan mandalis. As this year Muslims are observing Ramadan during this period, the mahant offered dates and fruit to the leaders to break their roza on Wednesday. The yatra thus has truly become a symbol of communal harmony in the city," claimed a senior city police official.

Source: The Times of India, DT. July 11, 2013.