Vadodara: Lord Jagannath’s Yatra held in temple premises

VADODARA: The full-fledged Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra might have got cancelled amid Covid-19 pandemic but that didn’t deter enthusiasm of the devotees in the city on Tuesday. The ISKCON temple management had organized a rath yatra that began in the temple after 3 pm and took a short route outside before returning to its premises within half-an-hour.
The city police had deployed additional security outside the temple to ensure that people don’t gather there in large numbers. The road leading to ISKCON was also blocked for some time when the lord’s chariot came out briefly. As per the ritual, mayor Jigisha Sheth cleaned the path before the yatra began. Senior politicians from the city were also present along with ISKCON devotees chanting ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’.
The chariot was pulled by the devotees in the temple premises and later ‘prasad’ as well as fruits were distributed among the people.
Devotees were all wearing the masks and ensuring that social distance was maintained during the yatra. Residents of the old city, though, were disappointed as they couldn’t witness the grand rath yatra that passes through Raopura, Jubileebaug, Khanderao Market and Polo Ground every year.