On the eve of Rath Yatra Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi visits Jagannath Temple and seeks blessings of Lord Jagannath
Shri Modi seeks blessings for a good monsoon and for the poor, farmers and villages of Gujarat.
On the occasion, Shri Modi said that the Jagannath Yatra has become a tradition in Gujarat for the last 135 years and the Yatra has now gone to 120 places across Gujarat.
Shri Modi said Lord Jagannath has a special association with the poor. He added that the mill workers on Ahmedabad played a crucial role in the city’s growth thus making Ahmedabad a city for the poor.
The 135th Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra, symbolising the confluence of Indian culture and communal harmony, will be taken out from the 400-year-old Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad tomorrow morning. As many as 19 decorated elephants will take part in the procession, besides 98 trucks with tableau displaying facets of Indian culture. Specially-decorated chariots of three deities - Lord Jagannath, his brother Lord Balram and their sister Subhadra - will be pulled by over 1,000 devotees. The Yatra will be welcomed by different Muslim organisations as well. Members of these groups will distribute lemon juice and water for those who have joined the Yatra. The annual festival has become a symbol of communal harmony over the last few years. As per century-old tradition, elephants will have the first glimpse of Lord Jagannath and would lead the procession through different parts of the city. Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi would perform the symbolic cleaning of the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balram and Devi Subhadra, besides the road on which they will start their journey from the temple.
