Ahmedabad, July 16 (IANS) Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said participating in the ‘Mangala Aarti’ at Ahmedabad’s Shree Jagannath Temple on the occasion of the 149th Jagannath Rath Yatra brought him “a special sense of spiritual fulfilment”.

In a post on social media platform X after attending the pre-dawn ritual, HM Shah said he had sought the blessings of Lord Jagannath at the historic temple in the Jamalpur area before the commencement of the annual procession.

“On the sacred occasion of Shri Jagannath Rath Yatra, I participated in the Mangala Aarti at the Shri Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad and sought the blessings of Mahaprabhu. This moment, filled with devotion and faith, always brings a special sense of spiritual fulfilment,” HM Shah wrote.

He added, “I pray to Mahaprabhu Shri Jagannath to continue showering His blessings upon everyone. Jai Jagannath!”

Earlier in the day, HM Shah participated in the Mangala Aarti at the temple, one of the first rituals performed on Rath Yatra day before the ceremonial departure of the chariots carrying the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra.

The annual Jagannath Rath Yatra, held on Ashadhi Bij, began from the nearly 400-year-old Shree Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur and is regarded as the second-largest Rath Yatra in the country after the festival in Puri, Odisha.

Every year, the procession attracts lakhs of devotees who gather along the traditional route to witness the chariots and seek the blessings of the deities.

The day’s ceremonies also included the traditional ‘Pahind Vidhi’, performed by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel before the procession set off from the temple.

Thousands of devotees assembled from the early hours of the morning to witness the rituals and the beginning of the 149th edition of the yatra.

Authorities put in place extensive security and civic arrangements for the procession, deploying more than 31,000 police personnel along with drones, CCTV cameras, body-worn cameras and artificial intelligence-enabled surveillance systems to monitor the 16-km route.

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and other agencies also made arrangements for traffic management, sanitation, medical assistance and emergency response to facilitate the smooth conduct of the annual religious event.

–IANS

mys/dpb