Puri, July 3: An overcast sky and thunder clouds threatened to play spoilsport on the morning of Bahuda yatra, but the drizzle that continued for the better part of the day made the weather so pleasant that the devotees rejoiced.

"This is the blessing of Lord Jagannath. We were apprehensive about bad weather predictions, but the Lord loves His subjects and will never put us in trouble. The Puri weather is usually hot and humid but today it was so pleasant," said Mamata Singh, a devotee from Puri.

The light drizzle also saved people from fainting, a common phenomenon during rath yatra when the humidity level is usually high. "We rescued about 50 persons on rath yatra day, but today the number was very small, all because of good weather. God indeed loves His devotees," said Bikash Sahoo, a volunteer here.

The beach in town was also a favoured place that tourists thronged. "I went to see the Lords. I waited till all the three deities had ascended their chariots. After that I rushed to the beach because of the pleasant weather," said Pritam Narula, a tourist from Gandhidham in Gujarat.

However, the drizzle had one negative fallout. It caused some disturbance in the security deployment with police personnel seen rushing here and there to seek shelter from the shower.

The most favourite place for them was under the three standing chariots at Sharadha Bali near Sri Gundicha Temple.

"I am authorized to enter the cordon, but I have seen a lot of people violating the norms and entering the cordon taking advantage of the rain and lax security. The cordon is the most important place since it is the place for the three carts and the Lords. No unauthorised person should enter it," said Giriraj Das Mohapatra, a servitor here.