Report on Educational Tour of Dept. of Anthropology conducted in the year 2015

Fieldwork Excursion on geomorphology and excavational work were done by the students of 3^rd year (Hons) in the area of Santiniketan near the river beds of Kopai in Birbhum district. The numbers of the students were 16 and two supervisors, Ujjaini Basu and Soma Bhattacharya guided them in that site. Here they studied the natural sections, overall geomorphology of the site different courses of river, soil texture and rock compositions of each and every stratum. They also dug test pits and collected few potsherds of Chalcolithic period during their excavation.

Our students of Part-III Anthropology (Honours) participated in a compulsory fieldwork for 16 days (21.11.15-06.12.15) in a multiethnic village named Tantan, Purulia, W. B. Total 16 students are work under the supervision of Kundan Ghosh and Somasree Sadhu. The students work on some aspect on the socio-economic life among the Bhumij tribe. They studies on the following topics- Population structure, economic pursuit, Religion, Political organization and role of panchayat, Morbidity profile and Health care practices, Developmental issues related with education, environmental awareness, techno-economic aspect.

Total 39 students of Part-II Anthropology (General) and Part–I Anthropology (Honours) participated in a compulsory fieldwork for 4 days at Dongaria village, South 24 Parganas, under supervision of Sanchari Dey. They work on some technological aspects among the potter community.

Report on Educational Tour of Dept. of Botany conducted in the year 2015

Excursions are an eminent part of the B.Sc. Botany curriculum under Calcutta University syllabus. Every year students of B.Sc. Part-2 Honours & General are taken to Achariya Jagadhis Chandra Bose Botanical Garden, to a different phytogeographical location and to local areas to study the variety of floras growing around us.  B.Sc. Part-3 General students visit the Medicinal Plant Garden at Ramakrishna Ashram, Narendrapur to enhance their knowledge on the pharmaceutical importance of numerous common and rare plants.

Likewise, this year also we went to Sillerygaon in Darjeeling district, with our B.Sc. Part-2 students, in the month of November (16^th-21^st , 2015). Our team comprised of 10 students guided by 3 teachers. The trip was a success as we got to collect a good number of plants for herbarium preparations and study the vegetation of that phytogeographical area. We expanded our field of study by visiting the nearby tourist spots of Rishikhola and Aritar. It was interesting to see that each of these places had some new plants to offer. The mighty view of Mt. Kanchenjunga, the scenic, the hospitality of the locals and the diversity of plants sincerely made our excursion a very satisfying experience.

On 10^th December we took the Part-3 General students to Narendrapur. Dr. S.K. Gupta (a consultant scientist of the Medicinal Plant Garden) showed us around the garden explaining the importance of the different medicinal plants maintained there. We were a team of 20 students and 2 teachers. The experience of students were enriching as ever.

In the month of January 2016 we are planning to take our students to Botanical Garden, followed by the local excursions in the month of February. 

Report on Educational Tour of Dept. of Geography conducted in the year 2015

The OKAYTI tea garden is located in Mirik C.D. Block of Kursheong Subdivision of Darjeeling District in West Bengal. The natural beauty of its surroundings, wondrous waterfalls, tall pine trees and  its magnificent back drop mighty Himalayas make it one of the prettiest tea gardens in the world. This area is formed by recent alluvium, produced by streams coming from Himalaya. The relief is very undulating. The greater coverage of tea garden can be attributed to low  relief  that favours for ideal slope for tea plantation. The general slope is from north to south east. The area is drained by Mechi River and its tributaries. It experiences monsoonal climate with three distinct season - summer, rainy and winter. The winter is extremely cold. Mirik is surrounded by lush green forests along with orange gardens, tea gardens and cardamom groves. The soils  in highlands are mixed sandy loamy, while those on southern slopes are coarse  loamy and  reddish in colour. This area is occupied by tea gardens. They have larger families and a youth bulge. The percentage of literacy is 77.12%. The main workers belong to workers in Okaity tea Garden. The economy is mainly based on tea cultivation followed by tourism, defense activities and others. Tourists pour from Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab and also from Kolkata, Coochbihar and Jalpaiguri etc. This tourist locations are  Sumendu Lake, Bokar Monastery, Tingling View Point, Tea Gardens, Orange Orchards, Sunrise Point. Krishnanagar Market is situated  near  Mirik Lake. Different types of shops are - food and beverages constitute, public utility, clinic and medicines.  The products are brought through  trucks from  Nepal, Darjeeling, Siliguri etc. The nearest rail station is New Jalpaiguri. Mirik is accessible by Bagdogra air port. Long distance buses and taxis connect Mirik to Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Kurseoung, and Sukiapokhri etc. Most of people depend on Mirik Block Primary Health Centre for their treatment. The facilities available are Ambulance, Emergency, Oxygen, Pathological Lab, X-ray, ICTC etc. The patients are sent to Siliguri Medical College Hospital in case of infectious diseases and critical cases. The role of Mirik Police Station in maintaining law and order is gaining importance with spread of tourism and enforced border activities. This criminal activities are theft, pick pocketing, eve teasing, accident, violence, murder, drug addiction, female trafficking racket, black marketing and circulation etc.

The improper lake maintenance, solid waste disposal and  unplanned  town planning poses a threat to virgin environment by creating pollution and nuisance. Deforestation, accelerated soil erosion has taken a toll on bio-diversity, increased vulnerability to natural hazards like landslide. The hotels, resorts, communication  system  need more attention to attract tourists. A study and zonation of earthquake and landslide vulnerable areas requires special attention and governmental initiatives. The growing changes coming in wake of urbanization and industrialization leave deep impression on hill ecosystem. To materialize the suggestive measures to upgrade and revamp the economic conditions of  local hilly people, a transparent, regular administrative vigilance is  need of hour.

 Report on Educational Tour of Dept. of Political Science conducted in the year 2015

After gaining independence the country has adopted the Parliamentary democratic system of governance. In order to inculcate the various aspects and issues related with the Parliamentary democracy amongst our students and to develop democratic attitude in them as also to strengthen the roots of democracy.

On 15^th December 2015, the Political Science Department of Vivekananda College for Women arranged an educational tour for the 2^nd year and 3^rd year hons students.

On that fresh writer             we started with 45 students, 9 teachers and one non-teaching staff for our tour. At first we went to the West Bengal legislative Assembly which was having its winter session.

The visit to the State legislature was very fruitful because the students had a firsthand experience of the working of democracy when has induced respect towards the democratic system in the young minds.

After lunch the students were shown the Kolkata High Court to have view of the state judiciary, on the way to Town Hall Kolkata. Here the students learnt about the historic background of this city and a light and sound show our freedom struggle.

It was immense pleasure to take the students for this educational tour which is sincerely arranged by the department of Political Science every year.

 Report on Educational Tour of Dept. of Zoology conducted in the year 2015

An educational tour to Pench Tiger Reserve was organized by Department of Zoology from 29^th October–2^nd November, 2015, with 2^nd year Honours students of the Department accompanied by 3 teachers as a part of their curriculum.

Pench Tiger Reserve, nestling in the lower southern reaches of the satpura hills is named after Pench river, meandering through the park from north to south. It is located on the southern boundary of Madhya Pradesh, bordering Maharashtra, in the districts of Seoni and Chhindwara. Pench National Park, comprising of 758 Sq. Kms. 

The forest cover in the park area includes teak mixed with other magnificent species like saja, amla, amaltas.Pench is perfect home to one of the most endangered big cats—the tiger. It is also home to about 39 species of mammals, 164 species of birds, 30 species of reptiles, 10 species of amphibians. Commonly seen wildlife are sambar, nilgai, wild pig, leopard, gaur, langur, four-horned antelope, chital etc. The rich bird life includes pea fowl, jungle fowl, crow pheasant, crimson-breasted barbet, red-vented bulbul, racket-tailed drongo, kingfisher, Indian roller, magpie robin, etc. Reptilian fauna includes Indian cobra, Russell’s viper, saw-scaled viper, red sand boa, monitor lizard etc.  

Students performed Quadrate study, Vegetation Study and Pitfall trapping as part of their field study. Apart from the field work, its methodology and application, students also had a close association with nature. Students and teachers both enjoyed the trip thoroughly. Besides students also had the opportunity to spend quality time with their teachers outside their classroom making the tour a memorable one.