FIELD TRIP REPORT

FIELD TRIP REPORT/03/2014-/03/2014

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Day 1Date: Agra Fort, Agra was visited on day 1 and the following sites were visited for the field work:1. Agra fort,2. Taj Mahal

AGRA FORTNear the gardens of the Taj Mahal stands the important 16th-century Mughal monument known as the Red Fort of Agra. Construction of the massive red-sandstone fort, on the bank of the Yamuna River, was begun by Emperor Akbar in 1565. Further additions were made, particularly by his grandson Shah Jahan, using his favourite building material white marble. This powerful fortress encompasses, within its 2.5-km-long enclosure walls, the imperial city of the Mughal rulers. It comprises many fairy-tale palaces, such as the Jahangir Palace and the Khas Mahal, built by Shah Jahan; audience halls, such as the Diwan-i-Khas; and two very beautiful mosques- moti masjid and nagina masjid.Several of the buildings are made from pure marble with beautiful carvings; all of these monuments mark the apogee of an Indo-Muslim art strongly marked by influences from Persia which already manifested itself in Timurid art.

The following features were observed here:1. Red-SandstoneAs aforementioned, the fort is mostly red-sandstone. Sandstone is sedimentary rocks and the color red is due to the presence of iron oxide or in geological terms has ferruginous cementing material.

2. Laminations. These laminations were seen on the boundary walls of the fort. Lamination is a small scale sequence of fine layers that occur in sedimentary rocks. Here the wall was made of Red Sandstone.Generally, lamination is defined by a thickness of 1 cm or less.

3. Beds and bedding planes. Beds Bedding planes- Here the weathering of the sandstone has revealed its different bedding planes.Beds different from lamination thickness?4.

5. Dug wells6. Granite structures7. Marble structures8. Plant species9.

TAJ MAHALThe Taj Mahal from Persian and Arabic, "crown of palaces", is a white marble mausoleum located in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage".

Day 2Date: Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur Fort was visited.BHARATPUR BIRD SANCTUARYThe Keoladeo National Park or Keoladeo Ghana National Park formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Rajasthan, India is a famous avifauna sanctuary that sees (or saw) thousands of rare and highly endangered birds such as the Siberian Crane come here during the winter season. Over 230 species of birds are known to have made the National Park their home. It is also a major tourist centre with scores of ornithologists arriving here in the hibernal season. It was declared a protected sanctuary in 1971. It is also a declared World Heritage Site. The sanctuary was created 250 years ago and is named after a Keoladeo (Shiva) temple within its boundaries. Initially, it was a natural depression; and was flooded after the Ajan Bund was constructed by Maharaja Suraj Mal, the then ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur, between 1726 to 1763. The bund was created at the confluence of two rivers, the Gambhir and Banganga. The park was a hunting ground for the maharajas of Bharatpur, a tradition dating back to 1850, and duck shoots were organised yearly in honor of the British viceroys. In one shoot alone in 1938, over 4,273 birds such as mallards and teals were killed by Lord Linlithgow, the then Governor-General of India. After India's independence, the rulers of the princely states were allowed shooting rights until 1972. In 1982, grazing was banned in the park, leading to violent clashes between the local farmer and Gujjar communities and the government.Months from oct-march most preferred.366 birds, 379 floral species, 50 fish, 13 snakes, 5 lizards, 7 amphi, 7 turtle, plus inverte

FaunaFloraOther features- termite mounds.Water resource- bore wells,

Day 3Date: IOC, PanipatBhalswa Landfill Site

IOC, PANIPATBHALSWA LANDFILL SITEBhalswa Landfill is an uncontrolled open dump owned and operated by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. BhalswaLandfill accepts domestic and commercial waste from the Delhi area CHARACTERISTICS OFLEACHATE AND GROUNDWATER SURROUNDING BHALSWA LANDFILL

Day 4Date: Badhkal Lake, Faridabad