MYSORE, Oct 5 (The Hindu): Thousands of devotees from various parts of the State witnessed the grand rathotsava (car festival) of Goddess Chamundeshwari atop Chamundi Hills here on Sunday.

The scion of the Mysore royal family, Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, and his wife Pramodadevi Wadiyar offered puja to the Goddess on the occasion. Afterwards, the “utsava murthy” or the idol of the presiding deity of Mysore was placed on a platform and taken around the temple, before placing it on the colourfully-decorated rath (car).

The rathotsava commenced at around 10 a.m. with Wadiyar symbolically pulling the chariot. Devotees were seen offering flowers and fruits to the vehicle.

Special buses had been arranged to the hills from the city to ferry devotees to the venue. Police forces had been deployed in large numbers to ensure security. Mayor Purushottam was present while Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and order) B.R. Ravikanthe Gowda supervised the security arrangements.

Traffic policemen had a tough time managing vehicles with over 20,000 people coming to the hills in various modes of transport.