Ahmedabad, July 19: Special precaution has been taken by the Gujarat
government on the eve of the annual 'Rath Yatra' of Lord Jagannath,
which will be taken out from the century-old historical Jagannath Temple
in the minority dominated Jamalpur area tomorrow on the auspicious
occasion of 'Ashadi Bij.'The old city area has already turned into a ''police line'' with about 8,000 armed policemen, including BSF and Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel, deployed on the 25-km route.
Security agencies plan to deploy about 20,000 armed policemen and maintain strict vigil from 30 watch towers and 300 rooftop points at various places in the city.
Meanwhile, the police has detained an unspecified number of anti-social elements as a precautionary measure.
Intelligence agencies have informed the Gujarat police that this being the election year, miscreants could spark off trouble during the procession.
The traditional ''Rath Yatra'' with three chariots of Lord Jagannath (Krishna), Lord Balram and Shubhadra will be taken out tomorrow with religious fervour.
The three chariots will be pulled by 1,200 burly men, and followed by 100 trucks with floats showcasing Indian culture, 16 elephants, 30 gymnastic groups, 20 musical bands and about 2,000 ''sadhus''.
The ''Rath Yatra'' will be flagged off by Chief Minister Narendra Modi after performing ''pooja'' at the temple at 0700 hours tomorrow. Temple authorities said the city police have given permission to take out the procession on the traditional route and have assured of adequate security blanket. As per tradition the three main chariots will be pulled by members of the Khalashi community. After passing through various parts of the city, it will return back to the Temple late in the evening.
The entire ''rath yatra'' will be video-filmed and will be closely monitored by senior officers from a special control room set up at the police headquarters here.
A total of 55 companies of para-military forces, including BSF, will be pressed into service. The police personnel will be equipped with bullet-proof jackets and night-vision equipment.
