PATHANAMTHITTA: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan reached the banks of the river Pampa near the holy hills of Sabarimala to inaugurate the touted Global Ayyappa Sangamam. The Chief Minister arrived at the venue, accompanied by Vellappally Natesan, General Secretary of SNDP Yogam.

Devaswom Minister VN Vasavan welcomed both of them to the main stage. NSS Vice President Sangeeth Kumar is also participating in the Ayyappa Sangamam.

Tamil Nadu Devaswom Minister Shekhar Babu is also in attendance at the event. Leaving the state BJP flummoxed, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath delivered his greetings to the Global Ayyappa Sangamam.

The inaugural session will begin with a prayer by Kaithapram Damodaran Namboothiri.

Eminent personalities for the panel discussion

• Sabarimala Master Plan Discussion at the main venue, Tatvamasi, after the inaugural session. Prof. Bejene S Kothari of Thiruvananthapuram College of Engineering, Dr Priyanjali Prabhakaran and former Chief Secretary Dr. K. Jayakumar will lead the discussion.
• Spiritual Tourism Circuit Session at the second venue, Sreerama Saketham. Former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister TKA Nair, Tourism Secretary K Biju, Travelmart Founder S Swaminathan and Somatheeram Ayurveda Group Chairman Baby Mathew will lead the session.
• The discussion on the topic of crowd control and preparations in Sabarimala will be led by former DGP Jacob Punnoose, ADGP S Sreejith, and Alappuzha Medical College Principal Dr B Padmakumar on the third platform at Hilltop. Revenue (Devaswom) Department Secretary MG Rajamanikyam will present the approach document.