Lakhs of devotees arrive in heavily fortified Puri for Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra

Lakhs of devotees have thronged the seaside pilgrim town of Puri for Lord Jagannath's annual Ratha Yatra on Friday, for which the Odisha Government has made elaborate arrangements, officials said.

About one lakh people have reached Puri by Thursday evening, and the number has increased manifold this morning, police sources said.

Lakhs of devotees from across the country and abroad are expected to participate in the event, they said.

“By the grace of Mahaprabhu (Lord Jagannath), we are fully prepared to conduct a smooth Rath Yatra on Friday. We are getting complete support and cooperation from the servitors. All arrangements are in place to make the mega event successful,” Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee said.

The town is heavily fortified with the deployment of approximately 10,000 security personnel, including eight companies of Central Armed Police Forces.

Odisha DGP Y B Khurania said that for the first time, an Integrated Command and Control Centre has been opened in Puri to monitor the entire festival from close quarters.

Over 275 AI-enabled CCTV cameras have been installed across Puri and on the roads to Konark, 35 km away and famous for the 13th-century Sun Temple, for surveillance.

This apart, the DGP said that the National Security Guard (NSG) snipers will take positions on rooftops along Grand Road in front of the temple.