Thiruvananthapuram: K Jayakumar IAS (Retd) was sworn in as the new president of the Travancore Devaswom Board on Saturday, while Adv K Raju took charge as a board member.

The oath-taking ceremony was held at 11.30 am at the Travancore Devaswom Board headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram. Board secretary P N Ganeswaran Potti administered the oath to both Jayakumar and Raju. Board member Adv P D Santhoshkumar presided over the function.

Devaswom, Ports and Cooperation Minister V N Vasavan, Food and Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil, General Education and Labour Minister V Sivankutty, and Registration Minister Ramachandran Kadannappally conveyed their wishes and addressed the gathering. MLA V Joy, KDRB chairman K B Mohandas, former minister C Divakaran, and former MP Pannyan Raveendran were among the large crowd that attended the ceremony.

Following the swearing-in, the first board meeting was convened.

Jayakumar becomes the 24th president of the Travancore Devaswom Board, which was constituted on August 1, 1949. He is a former chief secretary of Kerala and the first vice chancellor of Malayalam University. He has earlier served twice as the chief commissioner of the Travancore Devaswom Board.

Adv K Raju, who took oath as a member, is a former minister for forests and dairy development and a three-time MLA from Punalur.