Ocean explorer in God's Own Country

By Sachin Jose

KOTTAYAM: One would be surprised if they find a 58-year-old American tourist, John Racanelli, picking up littered bottles and plastic sachets at Kovalam Beach in Thiruvananthapuram.

     However, Mr Racanelli, Chief Executive Officer at Baltimore National Aquarium in the USA, remarked, "It is a simple commonsense thing to do... and if every beach-goer were to follow it, our shorelines would be devoid of trash. So let's!"

     He regards it as a mission to conserve the world oceans and its marine life. The ocean explorer, who belives he has "saltwater running through his veins," developed passion for "the briny" from childhood.

     "One of my earliest memories was of diving in the Pacific as a six-year-old," he recalled. "And I used to skip college to go on escapades including a 6,000-mile voyage from California to New York via the Panama Canal."

     At 17, Mr Racanelli became an aquarist at a marine park, when he started enjoying water sports including sailing, surfing, scuba diving and open-water swimming.

      After graduating in strategic management, he joined Monterey Bay Aquarium in California in 1984. After a decade, he left for a "risky" project to rejuvenate the bankrupt Florida Aquarium, which he successfully did.   Eventually, in 2011, he was invited to join the Baltimore National Aquarium in Maryland, where he engages 1.5 lakh students annually in the fields of marine biology, conservation and education.

     He resides at Canton Historic Waterfront District in Baltimore City with his wife and son who support him in his ventures. His wife Susan Backstrom Racanelli serves as National Development Officer at Seacology, a non-governmental organisation aimed at protecting the unique species, habitats and cultures of islands worldwide.

     Mr Racanelli regards underwater pioneer Captain Jacques Cousteau as his role model from whom he learned of the marine world and scientist Dr Sylvia Earle as his mentor, who at the age of 80 remains a tireless advocate for the preservation of aquatic life. Also, he was motivated by his father, John T. Racanelli, who served as a Judge in the USA for 30 years, inspired by his integrity, belief in service and commitment to social justice.

     Mr Racanelli is fond of dolphins and wishes to pilot a mini-submarine to the ocean's depths. His ambition is to travel around the world, making people aware of the importance of global marine wealth.

    Admiring Kerala, Mr Racanelli said, "I enjoy exotic food," disclosing that Malayali cuisine is one of his  favourites. "I enjoyed the backwaters and the shore, which I think, need more maintenance."

Municipality indifferent to disposal of toilet waste

By Sachin Jose

KOTTAYAM: The municipality is indifferent despite receiving complaints on toilet waste being frequently dumped into the sewage on Kurian Uthup Road here at Nagampadom.

    Shopkeeper Shameer Nizam, who resides nearby, said, "The waste is being brought in a Tata 407 water-truck daily between 3am and 5am and dumped into the sewage near the Municipal Park."

    Shahan Ali, an employee in the same shop, said they had complained to the municipality, but in vain. "And recently, we had tried to catch them by ourselves, but they drove off and dumped the waste by the transformer (which is 500 metre away from the sewage)."

    Also, KSEB Assistant Executive Engineer James George said they could not repair the transformer as waste was dumped around it. "I have complained to several officials including the municipal chairman, but they have not responded yet."

    However, Municipal Chairman MP Santhosh Kumar confirmed that he received complaints from KSEB as well as local people.

    "Though we send someone to check the dumping, we can't take any action by ourselves," Mr Kumar clarified. "Also, we don't know who the culprits are." He said that he had discussed the matter with the police and will take action soon.

    In contradiction, Kottayam East Sub-Inspector KP Thomson said he was neither aware of this incident nor did the municipality discuss it with him. "But, we will deploy our personnel and catch the culprits as soon as possible," he added.

70-year-old siren in Kottayam still functions

By Sachin Jose
KOTTAYAM: The siren here at the municipal building has been functioning ceaselessly ever since it was installed 70 years ago.

   During the Second World War, Dewan of erstwhile Travancore Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyar ordered to install civil-defense sirens in the major towns of the princely state to warn of bombings by Japan.

    As a result, the siren was set up in 1943, the same year the first municipal chairman, AV George assumed office.

    However, municipality electrician TC Mathew said, "The siren has hardly encountered any repairs, the last being nine years ago when it started producing noises.However, it has been working well after the bearings and rotors were cleaned "

    It is a horizontal double mounting siren with a power of 5 horsepower (3728.5 W) and its rotors rotate with 2,800 revolutions per minute. Mr Mathew said that the siren costs Rs 70,800 at present market value.

  The air-raid siren was manufactured by British Company Carter Gents, which is equivalent to contemporary Kheraj HDT-800 model produced in India.

     Used as a time alarm by the municipality, the siren blares at 1am, 5am, 8am,1pm, 5pm and 8pm every day. It is also used to communicate situations like the death of national or state leaders and calamities like fire breakouts, each with three sirens

      Auto-rickshaw driver M Asokan, who hails from Thiruvanchoor said, "The siren is audible as far as my home, which is 12 km away from here."