Union cabinet minister Prakash Javadekar, state ministers Pitani Satyanarayana,K.E. Krishna Murthy, Manikyala Rao participated in the grand event.
The devotees started congregating in the galleries around the shrine from the forenoon itself. About one lakh devotees, especially from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, reached the hills by foot, climbing the 10-km long stairway leading to the shrine, TTD administration said. A thick security blanket was put in place on the hills and also roads leading to the hill shrine on the occasion.