Far away from Puri lies Ranchi. At both places, Bhagwan Jagannath Rath Yatra has begun. In the seaside pilgrim town of Puri in Odisha, and Dhurwa in Jharkhand's capital city, the Rath festival is being celebrated on Sunday. 

Both Puri and Ranchi festivals are slated to be a two-day affair this year, a first since 1971. However, in Puri, President Droupadi Murmu is taking part, in Ranchi, CM Hemant Soren is expected among the lakhs of devotees joining the yatra on July 7.

In Puri and Ranchi, Chief Minister Mohan Majhi-led Odisha government and CM Hemant-led Jharkhand government have respectively made special arrangements for their participation as chief devotees Rath Yatra is a significant Hindu festival dedicated to Lord Jagannath, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu. 

During the festival, the idols of Lord Jagannath, along with his siblings Lord Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, are placed on grand chariots and pulled by devotees through the streets. 

This procession begins at the Jagannath Temple, both in Puri and Ranchi, and ends nearby there.