Puri, July 7 (Reporter) Amidst tight security cover, lakhs of devotees from across the country thronged this pilgrim city of Odisha to witness the world famous Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath and his siblings Lord Balavadra and Devi Subhadra, the presiding deities of the Sri Jagannath temple, Chants of “Jai Jagannath”, “harobol” and the clanging of cymbals rented the air around the 12th-century shrine and the three km long Grand road, popularly known as “Bada danda” as the deities were taken out from the “Ratna Sinhasan" of the temple's sanctum sanctorum to their respective chariots by the daitapaties - the temple servitors. This time., after a gap of almost 53 years, the rituals such as Netra Ustav, Nabajouban darshan of the deities and the Rath Yatra were performed on a single day on July 7. Since all three major rituals were performed on a single day on Sunday, the pulling of the chariots is all likely to be suspended after rolling down a few meters on the grand road. The journey would resume on Monday morning for the final destination - he Gundicha temple, located 3 kms away from the Jagannath temple. President Droupadi Murmu will not only witness the Rath Yatra but also pull the chariots, temple sources said. Early in the morning, the servitors offered 'Gopal bhog' (breakfast) to the deities who were then taken out from the 'Ratnavedi' in a ceremonial 'pahandi bije' to their respective well-decorated chariots parked outside the temple. Hundreds of temple servitors carried the deities on their shoulders from the temple amidst the blowing of conch shells through Ananda Bazar and the 'Baishi Pahacha'(the twenty two steps of the temple) to the Lions Gate. The chariots - the red and yellow 'Nandighosha' of Lord Jagannath with 16 wheels, red and green 'Taladhwaja' of Balabhadra with 14 wheels and the red and black 'Devadalana' of Devi Subhadra with a dozen wheels, were lined up outside the temple near the Lions Gate. As per rituals, Lord Balavadra was first taken out of the 'ratna vedi' and installed in the chariot called Taladhwaja' through the ceremonial 'pahandi bije', followed by Devi Subhadra to the 'Darpadalan Chariot'. Lastly Lord Jagannath, fondly called as 'kalia' by lakhs of devotees, was installed in the 'Nandighosh' chariot. Devotees broke into frenzied shouts of 'Haribol' and 'Jai Jagannath' and rushed to the Lions Gate as soon as they witnessed the deities coming out of the temple to board the chariots to begin their nine-day sojourn to the Gundicha temple. The appearance of the deities in public is believed to expel the darkness and bring light. After the three presiding deities along with Sudarshan were installed in the chariots, Puri Sankaracharya Swami Nischalananda Saraswati along with his disciples visited the deities atop the chariots and offered prayers. The rooftops of all buildings located on either side of the Grand road from the Lions Gate to the Gundicha temple have been packed with devotees since early morning. All lanes and by-lanes were also jam-packed with devotees. After the Puri Sankaracharya offered prayers to the lords atop the chariot, Puri king Gajapati Dibyasingh Dev came in a decorated Palanquin called "Mehena" from his palace and performed a set of rituals such as “Arati, Bandapana, rajnitee”, sprinkled holy water on the Ratha desks and swept the deck of the chariots around the deities with a golden broom) and offered prayers. As per the rituals, the Taladhwaja chariot of Lord Balabhadra will be rolled first, followed by the Darpadalan chariot of Devi Subhadra and finally the Nandighosh chariot of Lord Jagannath . As per tradition the deities, on their way to Gundicha temple will stop at Mausima temple to taste the famous 'Podapitha' (sweet cake) baked by their aunt. the security arrangements this time have gone hi-tech with the installation of artificial intelligence (AI) based CCTV cameras at Badadanda, the venue of the festival, and other strategic locations in this pilgrim town. A police officer said a Public Announcement Drone (PAD) flew over the Puri-Bhubaneswar national highway to identify black spots and inform the public and devotees. The authorities have identified about thirty traffic black spots along the Puri-Bhubaneswar, Puri-Brahmagiri, and Puri-Konark highways. This drone, weighing about fifteen kilograms and equipped with a public announcement system, can fly 30 to 100 meters above the ground and provide real-time information to the public. Approximately fifty platoons of the police force, with 450 officers, have been deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of vehicular and pilgrim traffic. Traffic restrictions will remain in force until the Suna Vesha of the deities.. Approximately 180 platoons of the police force have been deployed in the town in the wake of the president's visit. At least three companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF), two companies of the CRPF, eight SOG teams, bomb detection and disposal units, and over two thousand home guards were deployed, said Additional DGP (Law and Order) Sanjay Kumar. Puri District Magistrate Sidharth Shankar Swain said about 400 lifeguards were posted at various stretches along the Puri beach to save people from drowning in the sea. The railways have announced the highest number of 315 special trains to Puri from various places during the festival in addition to all regular trains. The state government has declared a public holiday on Monday as the chariots would be pulled on that day too...////...