Ranchi | Hundreds of people thronged the 17th century Jagannath temple here on Sunday on the occasion of the Rath Yatra festival.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren along with his wife and JMM MLA Kalpana Soren joined the devotees to offer prayers to Lord Jagannath.

Devotees pulled the chariot of Lord Jagannath, Goddess Subhadra and Lord Balabhadra on the way to their annual sojourn in Jagannathpur in HEC Township.

The chief minister performed rituals and 'aarti' before the deities on the occasion.

Union minister Sanjay Seth, former central minister Subodh Kant Sahay and several legislators were also present on the occasion.

Extending his wishes, the CM wrote on X, "May Lord Jagannath Mahaprabhu keep his blessings on all of you. I wish that all of you remain happy, healthy and prosperous."

"Like every year, we participated in the Lord Jagannath Rath Yatra today. I would like to wish people of Jharkhand and the country," said Soren after participating in the festival.

Heavy security arrangements have been in place in the 300-metre stretch from Jagannath temple to Mausi Bari here.

Watchtowers, CCTV cameras and drones were used to keep a close vigil on the crowd.