Hyderabad, Dec 7 (IANS): New Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday took charge at the state Secretariat.

After taking oath at L.B. Stadium, he, along with ministers, reached the Secretariat and took charge in his office located on the sixth floor

Accompanied by his wife, he performed puja amid chanting of Vedic hymns by a group of priests. When he occupied the chair of the Chief Minister, the priests blessed him. Later, he signed certain files brought by Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and other top officials.

After Revanth Reddy took charge, the first meeting of the State Cabinet began at the Secretariat.

Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka and 11 other ministers were attending the meeting.

Earlier, officials and Secretariat employees accorded a warm welcome to Revanth Reddy on his arrival. After the Congress stormed to power, Revanth Reddy had announced that the doors of the Secretariat would be thrown open for people.

The new Secretariat complex, equipped with state-of-the-art features and built with a unique design, was inaugurated on April 30. Then Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao had inaugurated the complex by occupying a chair in his chambers on the sixth floor and signing a few files.

The integrated complex housing the offices of the Chief Minister, ministers, Chief Secretary and all other Secretaries and heads of departments, has been named after Dr B. R. Ambedkar. Built at a cost of over Rs 600 crore, the Secretariat is a six-storey structure with seven lakh square feet of built-up space and equipped with all modern facilities. However, entry into the complex was restricted. Even media persons were not allowed in the premises.