Rath Yatra in Ahmedabad on July 7, security tightened with over 18,000 cops

The 147th edition of the annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath will take place on July 7 in Ahmedabad where more than 18,000 security personnel will be deployed to guard the event which draws lakhs of devotees, officials said.

Senior police officials will keep a close watch on the procession using 1,733 body-worn cameras linked to a control room.

Besides, 20 drones and 96 surveillance cameras have been installed at 47 locations on the route, an official release said on Wednesday.

Nearly 1,400 CCTV cameras installed by shopkeepers on the route will also be used for live surveillance, it said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Wednesday reviewed the security preparedness for the mega religious event at a meeting which was attended by various officials including Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi and Director General of Police Vikas Sahay.

Ahmedabad Commissioner of Police GS Malik made an elaborate presentation during the meeting on various security aspects of the Rath Yatra, said the release.

Malik informed the CM that as many as 18,784 security personnel, including Inspector General of Police (IG)-rank officers, will be deployed on the 16 km route in Ahmedabad for the Rath Yatra.

Of these, 4,500 personnel will walk with the procession on the entire route while 1,931 personnel will be deployed for traffic management, said the release.

To address any medical emergency, 16 ambulances and medical teams at five government-run hospitals will remain on stand-by. Also, 17 help desks will be set up on the entire route to help citizens, it said.

As per the decades-old tradition, the procession, led by chariots, would start early at around 7 am from the 400-year-old Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area and return by 8 pm after traversing different localities in the Old City, including some communally sensitive areas.

The procession usually consists of 18 decorated elephants, 100 trucks and 30 'akhadas' (local gymnasiums).

The raths (chariots) of Lord Jagannath, his brother Balbhadra and sister Subhadra will be pulled by Khalashi community members as per the age-old tradition.

Lakhs of people gather on both sides of the route to have a glimpse of the deities.