President Ram Nath Kovind, PM Modi extend wishes on occasion of Jagannath Rath Yatra

President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday extended their greetings to everyone on the occasion of Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra.

"Greetings and good wishes to fellow citizens on the auspicious occasion of Rath Yatra. May the blessings of Lord Jagannath bring peace, happiness and prosperity to everyone's lives," the official account of Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted.

"Best wishes to everyone on the special occasion of the Rath Yatra. We pray to Lord Jagannath and seek his blessings for the good health, happiness and prosperity of everyone. Jai Jagannath," PM Modi tweeted.

The nine-day annual chariot festival began today in Puri, Bhubaneshwar.

Home Minister Amit Shah, Gujarat Chief minister Vijay Rupani and Deputy Chief Minister Nitinbhai Patel offered prayers at the Jagannath Temple in Ahmedabad.

In the Rath Yatra, three chariots for the deities- Lord Balabhadra, Lord Jagannatha and Devi Subhadra are constructed every year. These sacred carriers are prepared, decorated and assembled by the traditional artists.

The craftsmen follow strict rules to participate as servitors in preparing the chariots, which commence on the day of Akshay Tritiya.

Thousands of handcrafters work for several months and prepare everything from scratch. Starting from cutting the wood to painting it and putting different parts of Rath together, everything is done with complete authenticity.

The prime attractions of the Rath Yatra of Jagannatha are the elaborate chariots. The decorative wooden idols of the three deities are pulled and accompanied by chants and conches, which can be heard all around.

(With inputs from ANI)