Members of the Muslim community warmly welcomed the Rath Yatra passing through Dariyapur and Shahpur in the old city. These areas are considered ‘communal sensitive’. About a dozen people were injured when the roof of a wooden cabin collapsed on the way to the Rath Yatra, police said.

In the year 2020, a symbolic Rath Yatra was organized in the premises of Lord Jagannath Temple after the Gujarat High Court denied permission for a general public Rath Yatra in view of the COVID-19 threat.

Last year, only three chariots and two other vehicles took part without the usual festivities, as no other vehicles, choirs, elephants or decorated trucks were allowed.

On Friday morning, the chariots of Lord Jagannath, his elder brother Balabhadra and his sister Subhadra set out on the 18-km route. Earlier in the morning, Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel performed the ‘Pahind Vidhi’ ritual, in which the path of the chariots is cleared using a golden broom before the start of the Rath Yatra.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah reached the temple at around four in the morning and took part in the ‘Mangla Aarti’. He has been following this tradition for the last many years.

More than a dozen decorated elephants, 100 trucks with tableaux and members of religious groups, akharas and choirs participated in the procession this year. These chariots returned to the temple late in the evening after about 12 hours passing through communally sensitive areas like Jamalpur, Kalupur, Shahpur and Dariyapur.

Members of the minority community welcomed the chariots with garlands as the chariots passed through Muslim-dominated areas. Children and women were seen waving white flags as the chariots passed through Dariapur.

To give a message of peace, Dilip Dasji Maharaj, the chief priest of the Jagannath temple, flew two pigeons after being greeted by local Muslims in Dariapur.

As per tradition, he was presented with a memento by the local Muslim leaders. Former councilor Hasan Pathan said that in return the Mahant donated Rs 5,100 to a local mosque in Dariapur. Local MLA Ghiyasuddin Sheikh and others welcomed the head priest and three chariots to Shahpur area.

The Gujarat government had deployed over 25,000 security personnel, including Central Armed Police Forces such as the Rapid Action Force (RAF), on the route.