SABARIMALA: In a surcharged atmosphere of gaiety and religious fervour, lakhs of pilgrims witnessed Makarajyothi after adorning the Thiruvabharanam on the idol of Lord Ayyappa on Friday. Deeparadhana, after adorning the attire in gold on the idol of the Lord, was held at 6.45 pm under the leadership of Thantri Mahesh Mohanaru in the presence of Melsanthi Sankaran Nampoothiri.Heavy rush of pilgrims was seen at all locations for witnessing Makarajoythi since in the morning.
Devaswom Minister V S Sivakumar, ADGP K Padmakumar, Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrishnan, members P K Kumaran and Ajay Tharayil, devaswom secretary K R Jyothilal, devaswom commissioner Ramaraja Prema Prasad, special commissioner K Babu, devaswom vigilance SP Gopalakrishna Pillai, devaswom chief engineer Muralikrishnan, devaswom board secretary V S Jayakumar and Sabarimala devaswom executive officer Renugopal were present on the auspicious occasion.
Cine stars Jayaram, Vivek Oberoi and Jayam Revi were the special attractions on the Makavilakku day.
Earlier, the Thiruvabaharanam procession, led by TDB president Prayar Gopalakrishnan, was given a traditional reception under the leadership of Sabarimala devaswom executive officer Renugopal and led the Thiruvabharanam procession to Sopanam.
In front of the golden flagmast, the Thiruvabharanam procession was received by Devaswom Minister, TDB member P K Kumaran and Ajay Tharayil, devaswom commissioner Ramaraja Prema Prasad and special commissioner K Babu.
The customary five-day procession carrying the thidambu of Malikappuram Devi temple on a caparisoned elephant was began at 7 pm.
The procession led by playing of temple percussion instruments was conluded in front of the Holy Steps and returned to the Malikappuram at 10 pm.
‘Plastic Ban in Sabarimala Effective’
Sabarimala: Devaswom Minister V S Sivakumar has said that measures were taken for the effective implementation of plastic ban in Sabarimala. Addressing a news conference here on Friday, the Devaswom Minister said that a meeting of the government departments were held for discussing the modalities for the implementation of the ban imposed by the Kerala High Court. The Minister said the Dam Safety Commissioner would visit Kunnar dam as part of the project for the capacity expansion of the Kunnar dam. Once cleared for the capacity expansion, steps would be taken for the implementation of the project so that the work could be completed before the beginning of the next Sabarimala season, the Minister said. Sivakumar said the state government had sought Central Government assistance of `643 crore for the implementation of projects at Sabarimala. Travancore Devaswom Board members P K Kumaran and AJay Tharayil, devaswom secretary K R Jyothilal, devaswom commissioner Ramaraja Prema Prasad, devaswom chief engineer Muralikrishnan and devaswom executive officer Renukumar were present at the conference.