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AHMEDABAD: The 133rd rathyatra of Lord Jagannath began on Tuesday morning from Jagganath temple in Jamalpur in the presence of thousands of devotees and robust security arrangements.

Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, as per tradition, did the symbolic cleaning of road outside the temple, from where the chariots of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balram and their sister Subhadra passes.

Thousands of devotees joined the procession as it started its journey through the 14-kilometre long route including some communally sensitive areas, in old city.

The yatra, oldest in the state, had devotees lined up alongside the chariots of Lord Jagannath, brother Balram and sister Subhadra.

The yatra will see participation of 18 decorated elephants, 98 decorated trucks apart from three big decorated raths of Lord Jagannath, Lord Balram and Subhadra, which will be pulled by 1,000 devotees.

The main chariots are closely followed by colourfully adorned elephants, trucks, motor vehicles, pilgrims on foot, acrobats and gymnasts.

Tight security arrangements with over 14,000 cops and 4500 home guard jawans have been deployed across the city.

4 Bomb Disposal Squads (BDS), 9 Quick Response Teams (QRTs), and 27 mobile Police Control Room (PCR) vans have also been deployed for the rathyatra in the city.