Unprecedented security marks Ahmedabad rath yatra
Submitted by admin4 on 24 June 2009 - 5:20pm
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : The annual rath yatra (chariot festival) of Lord Jagannath got underway in Ahmedabad Wednesday with 15,000 state policemen and central forces providing tight security along the 14-km route.
Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi performed 'puja' at the Jagannath temple in the city before the main chariot of Lord Jagannath started trundling at 8 a.m. More than 50,000 people
are following the chariot that is being pulled by 50 devotees.
The major feature of this year's yatra - the 132nd since it was first held - is that hundreds of Muslims have joined it. They have been welcomed into the mmunally sensitive Jamalpur and Kalulpur localities, which have in the past witnessed some of the worst communal riots.
Almost the entire battalion of traffic policemen of Ahmedabad has been deployed for smooth movement of the procession through localities from where the chariot is passing. The yatra is expected to culminate at 8 p.m. at the Jagannath temple after traversing through half of the old Ahmedabad city.
The policemen continued to round up suspicious characters during the yatra to ensure nothing went wrong. A large number of elevated observation posts have been erected in the sensitive Jamalpur and Kalulpur areas where the Border Security Force men have been deployed with their automatic weapons.
A battalion of Gujarat's State Reserve Police (SRP) also has been deployed ahead of the chariot while the troopers of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) are escorting the chariot.
The mammoth wooden chariot weighing several hundred tonnes has priests and some devotees sitting on it with the idols of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balram and sister Subhadra.
Ahmedabad Police Commissioner S.K. Saikia and state Director General of Police (DGP) S.S. Khandwawala are supervising the security arrangements, for which dedicated control rooms have been set up.
Over 50 surveillance cameras have been mounted not only on the chariot but also on top of buildings in areas from where the yatra is passing.
Nearly a lakh of people are expected to join the yatra's welcome in the old city localities.
FREE REPRINTS
Unless otherwise noted, you can republish our articles for free. You just have to credit TwoCircles.net and link it back to us, and you can’t edit our material or sell it separately. (We're licensed under Creative Commons, which provides the legal details.). For publishing TwoCircles.net photos please contact info@twocircles.net.
Unprecedented security marks Ahmedabad rath yatra
Thank to Almighty God that the Rath Yatra of Ahmedabad passed peacefuly.
Thanks our peace loving Muslim brothers showing communal harmony and participation in the Rath Yatra.
Another Yatra - another genocide in the making
Advaniji wants to go on another Yatra (at age 85). Probably a Vidaayi Yatra (Goodbye Yatra). I am afraid this man "jaate-jaatey" wants to leave around a string of riots / genocide / pogroms against vulnerable un-armed Indian Muslims, before he closes his eyes. Martey-martey bhee.. he wants to see muslim women raped., muslim babies butchered., and muslim men killed. After the killing, steal the TV, Jewelry, and occupy the house. That is Hinduism Live ! and the reality on the ground. Jaatey-jaatey., he wants to continue with the dirty work that he did all his life.
Advani will be remembered for his Rath Yatra / Shalinyas 1992., Babri Masjid demolition ., killings of thousands of innocent indain muslim men/women/children... That is his legacy... but he wants to go down burning.
Jaate jaate bhee.. jalaao-maaro... karna chaahta hai... budhan`waa..
Post new comment