148th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath Draws Massive Crowds in Ahmedabad Amid Tight Security

Ahmedabad: Thousands of devotees gathered in Ahmedabad on Friday morning to witness the 148th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath, a grand religious procession that marks one of Gujarat’s most cherished spiritual traditions. The iconic yatra began from the 400-year-old Jagannath Temple in the Jamalpur area, where the chariots of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra, and sister Subhadra were ceremoniously pulled by members of the Khalasi community, as per age-old customs.

The event witnessed participation from top dignitaries, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and his family attending the morning prayers, while Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel performed the traditional ‘pahind vidhi’—a symbolic act of sweeping the path for the chariots with a golden broom. The yatra, featuring 18 elephants, 100 elaborately decorated trucks, devotional music groups (bhajan mandlis), and 30 akhadas (traditional gymnasiums), is covering a 16-kilometre route through the old city before returning to the temple by 8 PM.

An estimated 14 to 15 lakh devotees are expected to line the streets throughout the day, offering prayers and seeking blessings from the deities. Given the scale of the event and its route through some communally sensitive areas, security arrangements were unprecedented. Nearly 23,800 security personnel, including 4,500 deployed along the procession and 1,931 tasked with traffic management, were stationed across the city. Advanced surveillance measures, including 2,872 body-worn cameras, 41 drones, 96 CCTV cameras, and 25 watch towers, were put in place to ensure real-time monitoring and crowd control.

For the first time, an Artificial Intelligence-based surveillance system is being used during the yatra. The system is designed to alert police and fire officials in case of overcrowding or fire hazards, enhancing the city’s emergency response capability. The state government has also ensured that multiple roads remain closed to normal traffic to facilitate the smooth movement of the chariots and maintain public safety.

In the run-up to the yatra, the police conducted over 500 community meetings, including 177 peace committee meetings, 235 mohalla-level meetings, 57 women’s committee meetings, and 21 discussions with religious leaders. These initiatives aimed to strengthen communal harmony and ensure the event passed peacefully.

As the three sacred chariots rolled through the city to the chants of “Jai Jagannath,” the 148th Rath Yatra stood out not only for its spiritual grandeur but also for the meticulous planning, security coordination, and deep-rooted community engagement that made it a success.