Cuttack: Thousands of devotees on Saturday pulled up the decked up chariots of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Subhadra amid chants of "Jay Jagannath" in the city, braving brief spells of drizzle during the last leg of the deities' sojourn.

Over 17 platoons of police were deployed at various locations to facilitate pulling of the chariots, especially those at the three notable ones - Baldevjew temple at Ranihat, Patitapabana temple at Dolamundai and Jagannath Temple at Chandni Chhak.

Deputy commissioner of police Akhileswar Singh said rath yatra passed off peacefully at the three temples and along the route.

Women police personnel were deployed in adequate numbers for the chariots of Subhadra at Dolamundai and Chandni Chhak, which were pulled only by women.

The chariot of Baldevjew temple winded across the bridge over the Taladanda canal as devotees pulled the rope amid rhythmic beats of cymbals and drums moving through main street from Ranihat to the Tareni temple at College Square and then to the Gundicha shrine, where the deities would be kept till July 23.

The Baldevjew temple continued with its single chariot tradition for the rath yatra. A member of the temple managing trust said rath yatra was started by it three years ago with the biggest chariot (25ft x 20ft) in the city.

Large number of devotees pulled the three chariots of Patitapabana temple from Dolmundai to Seminary Chhak to the Gundicha house nearby. "We have been observing rath yatra since 1962. Though we started with a single chariot, we switched over to three in 1982," a temple managing committee member said.

Devotees also pulled the chariots of Jagannath temple at Chandni Chhak through Asta Sambhu Temple, Bandha Basali Chakh, Dagarpada, Mangala Sahi Chhak to the Gundicha house at Kafla.