Bhubaneswar/Cuttack, July 3: Thousands of devotees today pulled chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra amid chants of "Jai Jagannath" during bahuda yatra in various parts of the twin cities.
The bahuda yatra was celebrated in more than 40 places in Bhubaneswar.
"Adequate police personnel were deployed to regulate the traffic and maintain law and order. No untoward incident took place during the festival," said Bhubaneswar deputy commissioner of police Satyabrata Bhoi.
Devotees also pulled the chariots of the holy Trinity at Cuttack's Chandini Chowk from the Gundicha House at Kafla Bazar where the deities had been resting since rath yatra on June 25.
The deities of the Baldevjew temple at Ranihat also completed the bahuda yatra with devotees pulling the chariot amidst rhythmic beats of cymbals and drums moving through the main street back from College Square. "We have continued with the single chariot tradition after starting rath yatra two years ago," temple managing trustee Manoj Kumar Sahoo said.
Cuttack deputy commissioner of police Sanjeev Arora said: "Twenty platoons of police force were deployed to maintain law and order and traffic was diverted at various places to facilitate return journey of the chariots of the temples at Ranihat, Dolamundai, Chandini Chouk."
Devotees also took part in the bahuda yatra at Kathagada Sahi where the tradition has been completing since 1916. Following tradition, the deities were taken from the Prakatnath temple to the Madan Mohan temple, where they were kept since June 25.
Kathagada Sahi resident Loknath Sahoo said: "We are proud to be a part of the oldest rath yatra tradition in the city."