A religious procession will uniquely have Unmanned Aerial Vehicles as part of its security cover when the 136th Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath begins here tomorrow morning.
On the eve of the yatra, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi visited the more than 400-year old temple in Jamalpur area of the city to take stock of security and other arrangements and also to pay obeisance to the deity. The yatra kicks off from the temple.
Modi also sought blessings of Mahant Dilipdas Maharaj, who will preside over tomorrow's procession.
"We pray to Lord Jagannath for peace, unity and goodwill amongst all of us. May he bless the poorest of the poor, our farmers and may India scale newer heights of progress in the coming years," Modi later wrote on his blog.
As per the tradition, Modi will perform the 'Pahind Vidhi' for the Rath Yatra (symbolic cleaning of the path for the chariot of Lord Jagannath), after which the procession of Lord Jagannath, Lord Baldev and their sister Subhadra will begin.
Modi will be the first CM to perform the traditional ceremony for the 12th time, a trustee of the temple said.
He added that Modi would also pull the chariot out of the temple premises, an age-old tradition.
Outside the Rath Yatra in Odisha's Puri, the Gujarat Rath Yatra attracts global attention.
"This year a link of the yatra has been provided on Facebook so that people can get an online glimpse of the Lord," the trustee said.
