Lord Jagannath's Rath Yatra completes 1st phase peacefully

Ahmedabad, Jul 4 (UNI) The 131st annual Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath peacefully concluded its first phase of journey with safe arrival in Masalu (maternal uncle's house) in Saraspur area of the walled city this afternoon.

The journey of all three main chariots of Lord Jagannath (Krishna), his elder brother Lord Balram (Balbhadra) and their sister Shubhadra commenced from the Jamalpura area amidst unprecedented security at 0700 hrs this morning. The three chariots were flagged off by chief minister Narendra Modi.

Earlier, the entire procession was halted for an hour when a bolt of one of the wheels of the chariot of sister Shubhadra was worn-out in Saraspur area.

The Yatra began amid chanting and shouting of ''Jai Ranchhod, Makhan Chor'' and ''Mandirrma Kaun Chhe, Raja Ranchhod Chhe'' (Who is in the temple, it is King Ranchhod) by thousands of Hindu devotees from the historical Jagannath Temple.

(Eds: Pick up suitably from BY1 'Yatra series') UNI MP OBB RL HS1638