Gandhinagar, July 16 (IANS) Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel on Thursday reviewed the progress of Ahmedabad’s 149th Jagannath Rath Yatra in real time via the Chief Minister’s Dashboard, overseeing the procession’s movement and security arrangements after flagging off the annual yatra earlier in the day.

After performing the traditional ‘Pahind Vidhi’ at the historic Shree Jagannath Temple in the Jamalpur area and flagging off the procession, Patel returned to his official residence in Gandhinagar, where he monitored the yatra through a live video wall at the CM Dashboard.

The Chief Minister reviewed live feeds tracking the movement of the three chariots and received updates on crowd management, traffic regulation and security measures deployed along the procession route.

Officials also briefed him on the use of artificial intelligence-enabled surveillance and drone technology by the police to monitor the yatra in real time.

According to the state government, the dashboard provided continuous updates on the chariots’ locations and the overall management of the procession, enabling senior officials to assess developments throughout the day.

Chief Secretary M. K. Das, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister and Home Department Sanjeev Kumar, Director General of Police (DGP) G. S. Malik, and senior officers from the Gujarat Police and the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation joined Patel during the review.

The annual Jagannath Rath Yatra, now in its 149th edition, began from the nearly 400-year-old Shree Jagannathji Mandir in Ahmedabad’s Jamalpur on Thursday morning following the traditional religious ceremonies.

The procession carries the idols of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra along the customary route through the city before returning to the temple later in the day.

This year’s procession is being conducted under one of the largest security deployments for the event.

More than 31,000 police personnel have been deployed, supported by drones, AI-assisted surveillance, facial recognition systems, high-resolution CCTV cameras and body-worn cameras.

Police have also established a central control room for real-time monitoring of the 16-km route, while cyber teams are monitoring social media platforms to identify and act against rumours or misinformation during the procession.

The Ahmedabad Rath Yatra is regarded as the second-largest Jagannath Rath Yatra in the country after the annual procession in Puri and attracts lakhs of devotees every year.

–IANS

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