Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government appointed former Chief Secretary K Jayakumar as the new president of the TDB, which manages major shrines including Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.

According to a gazette notification issued on Monday, the term of the outgoing Travancore Devaswom Board president, P S Prasanth, will expire on November 13.

"The Council of Ministers has nominated K Jayakumar, retired IAS officer, as the president of the board from November 14," the notification said.

He will serve as the TDB president for a period of two years from November 14, 2025, it added.

Jayakumar had earlier served as Devaswom Special Commissioner at Sabarimala for a year during his tenure in government service.

After retiring as Kerala Chief Secretary, he also served as the founding Vice-Chancellor of Thunchath Ezhuthachan Malayalam University.

The government appointed the former bureaucrat to the top post of the temple body amid a political row over the loss of gold from the Sabarimala temple.

Jayakumar has already said that his "immediate concern" would be to ensure the smooth conduct of the two-month-long Mandala-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.

The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to begin on November 17.