Kozhikode: The Mahakavi Ulloor Smaraka Samithi organised a warm farewell function here in connection with the transfer of Regional Science Centre and Planetarium director V.S. Ramachandran who had chipped in the lion's share in transforming it into a hub of the scientific quest.
Speakers, one after another, showered praises on him for his 20-year stint raising it to world standards.
Prof Varghese Mathew presided over the function. In his address, Mr Ramachandran expressed his gratitude for the citizenry for supporting him in the mission.
"Without the all-out support of people from all walks of life including people's representatives and officials, the planetarium will not have been the one we have today", he said.
Under his mentorship, it became the most visited among the 28 planetariums in the country. As per data, 5.75 lakh people visited the planetarium in 2017-18 whereas when it started in 1997, the annual footfall was just 78,000.
The annual income also increased from Rs 10 lakh in 1997-98 to Rs 1.5 crore in 2017-18.
Promoted as eastern zone director of Regional Science Centres monitoring eight centres, he will soon move to Birla Industrial and Technological Centre, Kolkata.
