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Imran Khan in Puri
Lakhs of devotees thronged the holy city of Puri on Saturday morning to witness the Rath Yatra.
Though unexpected rains provided much relief to the devotees, it turned out to be a headache for the administration as some parts of the route were flooded.
The sound of bells and songs by devotees welcomed the three presiding deities of the Jagannath temple - Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Lord Balavadra and their sister Devi Subhadra from the sanctum sanctorum.
The deities were then taken to the well-decorated chariots. While Lord Balavadra was taken to the Taladhwaja, Devi Subhadra was installed inside the Devidalan and Lord Jagannath to the Nandighosh.
The chariots would begin their nine-day journey to the Gundicha temple this afternoon.
The devotees had occupied almost all the buildings on both the sides of the three-km-long road to have a glimpse of the three chariots and the presiding deities.
A state intelligence official told rediff.com that till 10 am Saturday about 500,000 people had gathered to take part in the festival.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and his cabinet ministers were also in attendance.
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