Amid blowing of conches and beating of cymbals, the annual Rath Yatra began in Jagannath Puri on Saturday. The rituals started with the crack of dawn as per tradition, before devotees got to pull the three traditionally decked up chariots of Nandighosa (for Jagannath), Taladhwaja (for Balabhadra) and Devadalana (for Subhadra) in which the three siblings set off for their annual sojourn to Gundicha temple, the abode of their “Mausima (aunt)”.

Devotees started pouring in on the Grand Trunk Road since early morning to be a part of the religious event. The nine-day Rath Yatra festival is expected to draw lakhs of devotees to the pilgrim town.

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Pilgrims and devotees pull the chariots in a procession to Gundicha temple in Puri, which is around 3 km away from the main Jagannath temple.

A large numbers of police personnel have been deployed to ensure proper security arrangements for the devotees and tourists during all the events — Gundicha Yatra, Bahuda Yatra, Sunavesha, Nabajoubana Darshana and Niladribije – that form part of the festival.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi have other leaders have extended greetings to people on the occasion of Jagannath Rath Yatra.

“With the blessings of Lord Jagannath, may our country scale new heights of growth. May every Indian be happy and prosperous,” Modi tweeted.

Greetings on the auspicious occasion of Rath Yatra.

With the blessings of Lord Jagannath, may our country scale new heights of growth. May every Indian be happy and prosperous.

Jai Jagannath! pic.twitter.com/1Ifrxueaiu

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 14, 2018

Like he does on all important occasions, well known sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik made a grand art piece at the Puri sea beach to mark Rath Yatra too. “My SandArt of the Lord #Jagannath and his greatest devotee, Salabega for the pious occasion of #RathaJatra at #Puri,” he tweeted.

My SandArt of the Lord #Jagannath and his greatest devotee, Salabega for the pious occasion of #RathaJatra at #Puri. pic.twitter.com/TQGT0ejGPi

— Sudarsan Pattnaik (@sudarsansand) July 13, 2018

Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) RP Sharma said earlier this week tight security arrangements would be made for smooth conduct of the chariot festival.  After a review meeting on the security measures, he had said 140 platoons of police force and 1,000 officers would be deployed during Rath Yatra.

The police had also sought permission from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to declare the “Bada Danda”, the procession route, a ‘no flying zone’.

The Coast Guard has agreed to adequately patrol the sea off the Puri coast while the Railway Protection Force will ensure adequate security at Puri and Bhubaneswar railway stations.

Sri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) chief Pradipta Mohapatra had said CCTVs would be installed around the Gundicha temple during the festival.

Meanwhile, as many as 184 special trains to and from Puri have been pressed into service from July 14.

The trains will ply from Khurda, Bhubaneswar, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Paradip, Berhampur, Bhawanipatna, Keonjhar, Bangiriposi, Palasa and Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Kharagpur, Shalimar in Kolkata between July 14 and 25, according to the East Coast Railway.

Fourteen special trains will run towards Puri. One special train each will start from Visakhapatnam, Kharagpur, Shalimar and Junagarh Road for Puri on July 13.

One each train will start from Bangiriposi, Kendujhargarh, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Paradeep, Brahmapur, Palasa and three from Khurda Road for Puri on July 14.

In the reverse direction, 14 special trains will leave from Puri for Visakhapatnam, Kharagpur, Shalimar, Junagarh Road, Bangiriposi, Kendujhargarh, Bhadrak, Cuttack, Paradeep, Brahmapur, Palasa and three towards Khurda Road on the Rath Yatra day.

As many as 24 special trains will run to and from Puri between July 15 and 20.

(With agency inputs)