Jagannath Rath Yatra preparations in full swing, check these pictures

The procession will be carried out following all the COVID-19 protocols. A curfew will also be imposed on the route during the rath yatra.

At least 48 people, who will participate in the procession, will be tested for COVID-19 at least 48 hours before taking out the yatra. They will undergo RT-PCR COVID-19 tests.

The procession used to come back to the Lord Jagannath temple after covering a distance of 19 km in about 12 hours, which included an hour-long lunch break at Saraspur.

Before the COVID-19 outbreak last year, lakhs of people used to gather along the route on 'Ashadhi Beej' every year to catch a glimpse of the decorated elephants and tableaux moving around in some 100 trucks.

Traditionally, the procession, led by chariots, would start early at around 7 am from the 400-year-old temple and return by 8 pm.

Last year, only a symbolic rath yatra was organised in the premises of the Lord Jagannath temple in Jamalpur area in Gujarat after the Gujarat High Court denied permission for the usual public procession in the wake of the pandemic.

To stop people from gathering along the route for a glimpse of the deity, a curfew will be imposed on the entire yatra route from early morning till afternoon, Minister of State for Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja told reporters in the state capital Gandhinagar.