A MEMORABLE JOURNEY TO WORLD OF ROCKS
It was our 3rd semester. On Saturday, October 13th 2007 as planned earlier, only eighteen students were assembled in suburb bus stand along with Geology Prof.Dr.shekar at 7.45am.the bus to srirangapatna started at 8:10am.By the time we reached Srirangapatna it was 8:50am.From there started our journey with rocks along with up’s and downs in valleys.
From srirangapatna we continued our journey towards Karighatta by walk. The stretch from srirangapatna to Karighatta is around 2.5 to 3kms.On the way we saw the river cauvery and one of the oldest bridge constructed across by Lord Wellesley. Also we observed some igneous intrusion called Dyke which is basic in nature. We also got an opportunity to observe the recent bridges constructed across Cauvery & Lokapavani River. Further we observe few “aalemane” where raw sugarcane are crushed and processed to manufactured jaggery.We also noticed huge heaps of crushed sugarcane waste which is useful in manufacture of paper in paper industries, but people there use this waste for burning which is very essential in the manufacture of jaggery.on the road side on the way to karrighatta we also observed some igneous rocks.We also observed the flow of river lokapavani which is a tributary of river cauvery.
After observing all these we reached karighatta at around 9:30am there we met Dr.G.S.Gopalkrishna & Dr.M.A.Shankar who are professors at Departement of studies in Geology,Manasagangothri,and university of Mysore. They were friends of our sir. Our Sir introduced them to us & requested them to brief about the area. it is as follows.
Karighatta is one of the oldest rocky hills in south India,which could be considered very much for geological studies. these rocks come under granite – green stone belt. The rock types are meta volcanics which were deposited in the ocean and later metamorphosed. The Karighhatta has housed variety of rocks both igneous & metamorphic.Igneous rocks are represented by syenite porphyry, diorite porphyry & some basic dykes. The Metamorphic. Igneous rocks are represented by schist’s & quartzite’s.The hill consists of more number of Fuchsite Quartzite rocks, which is schist of mica. schist’s are a kind of crystalline metamorphic rocks that splits easily in to layers. It is usually composed mainly of mica. The whole hill is a natural wonder. They also briefed about the ages of rocks which are classified as zoic rocks and Azoic rocks. Zoic rocks means rocks formed when there was life on earth. And Azoic rocks means rocks formed when there was no life on earth. One of the interesting factors about karighatta hills is that belongs ARCHEAN age i.e.
2700million years old or 2.7billion years old!
After having detailed information from the scholars we had a light breakfast near the canal and started to go up towards the top of the hill. While going sir showed and gave explanation of strike and dip, joints and its varieties,small later intrustions etc.We also observed lime concords which are generally formed in basic rocks. When we went to the top of the hill we observed huge Fuchsite Quartzite rocks striking in north- east and south-west directrions with adip of 65-70degrees. Little upward we got milky quartz,Amphibolites rocks(hard rock )having Gneissic bands, Granites which are metamorphosed give rise to Gneisses having alternate black and white strips,porphyritic textured rocks.
After complete observation of one hill, we had darshan of lord srinivasa. We were exhausted only for one hill; of course we were due to visit 2 more hills just opposite to temple. Even the water carried by us was exhausted. There was some scouts and guides camp, we took water from them. After relaxing for some time we started climb another hill which is opposite to temple. During this traverse we observed and collected many rock types such as Syenite porphyry, Diorite porphery, Fuchsite Quartzite rocks for our department. Thus finished our tired some field work. We had nice snaps along with friends.
We came down the hill by steps to canal played well with water and had a nice sharing lunch. Then bus arrived at 3.50pm and we were in Mysore 4.40pm.hen I reached my home it was 5.30pm with lots of tiredness having a sound sleep with a nice pain and sweet memories of Karighatta.
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THE ROYAL EMPIRE
Do you know the secrets of earth that contains many rocks, minerals and many more present inside it, which we come across our daily life? Can you count? I know you will be in dilemma to answer this. But we were astonished to see a wonderful world of rocks and minerals which comprises the whole Earth! Yes its purely the universe of rocks, minerals and fossils, through which we know the Earth today. Many Royal dynasties have ruled over the Earth for many years and at last had been vanished along with time. But do you know the royal dynasty ruling the earth for many years till today and is dated for the whole future until the end of the world! Let me describe you this Rock Empire!
It was hot afternoon of Friday February 8, 2008. As planned earlier & had got permission from our Principal to visit Department of Studies in Geology, Manasagangothri, University of Mysore which will be helpful for our studies as we were in 4th sem. Hence all students were assembled in college. We departed from college bus along with Geology Prof. Dr. Shekar at 12:45 pm. We reached University campus by 1:10 pm.
We were allowed to see the Geology Museums there around 1:20 pm. Sir introduced us one of the resource person in geology Mr.Devraj inside the museum, who was expert in explaining the things to us. We had split ourselves into two groups. One group went to Museum-1 and the other to Museum-2. Let us first know about Museum-1.
DETAILS OF MUSEUM-1
As we were inside, really we were in a different world. At first Mr. Devraj started to give description. There were nearly 16 types of rocks arranged in a line consisting of black, red, pink- Granites, Dolerite, Barite, Polishing stones, Chamundi granite, Gneiss, Fuchsite & many other types. Vermicolite,Muscovite mica, Biotite mica, Fossils, Sea rocks like Shells, remains of some sea animals like fish, starfish, crabs, etc., a chart containing most primitive types of fossils were also present. We also had Fuchsite-Quartzite, Syenite porphyry, Diorite porphyry, Chalcopyrite, Garnet Tourmaline, Schist, Dolomite, Quartzite, Leptimite, Quartz veins, Granite, Labrodonite and many more.
There was a big chart having “Life through Ages”. We saw the description of man's life in it. It had geological divisions of man's life along with its lifetime, vegetation etc. The geological divisions are namely: Holocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene, Eocene, Cretaceous, Jurassic, Triassic, Permian, Carboniferous, Devonian, Silurian, Ordovician, Cambrian & Pre-Cambrian. Here Pre-Cambrian is the first and Holocene is the last in which we are presently living.
Then he explained us about some of the important minerals like Albite- rich in calcium, Anorthite- rich in sodium, Bytnowite- contains 30 to 50% silica, Labrodonite- Here we can see the change of colours. Shales, Leptinites, Granites, Amygdaloidal basalt, Chlorite Schist, Rocks from Andaman Islands, models of ancient man, Fossil of a bird, A detailed description of Evolution of Man, Stratigraphic column having geological divisions of man's life along with its lifetime at different regions in both Kannada & English were also present. It was very nice to see but hard to remember all the names & their properties!
DETAILS OF MUSEUM-2
We entered the Museum-2. There were so many varieties of Zeolite samples from Pune namely Apophyllite, Pink-Apophyllite, Apophyllite+Quartzite, Zeolite on basalt, Natrolite and different types of calcites to see. He said that calcite gives effervescence with HCl. It is Rhombohedral crystal system. Many varieties of Quartz were present. Quartz is a SiO2 mineral obtained due to tremendous volcanic activities. Some of its varieties are Agate, Jasper, Zebra agate, Flint, Chalcedony, Opal, Amethystine Quartz, Smoky Quartz, Rock crystal, Chert, Blue Quartz, Milky Quartz, Blood stone and many more. Then we saw Graphite, Porphyritic rocks, Calcite, Dolomite, Microcline, Serpentine, Feldspars, Kyanites, Termolites & Galena, which is a heavy mineral due to its specific gravity. 3D models of different crystal systems, 2D models of different types of Folds & Faults, Crystal models made of glass were also present.
Then we had a look at a big chart namely “Regional Lithostratigraphic Classification of Kaladgi, Badami”. It was having details of different rocks present in that region. Some of them were Breccia, Dolomite, Argillite, Limestone, Quartzarenite, Conglomerate etc. They had attached the rock sample found in that region against the name of each rock.
We were greatly excited when we saw Granites, Garnets, Natrolites, sulphur-yellow in colour, Sapphire-blue, that too along with pure Diamonds & Gold in capsules which were enclosed in a large case! Then we were able to see Asbestos, Ruby, many Metamorphic rocks like Schists and other varieties, Sulphide ore, Iron ores like Pyrites, Chalcopyrites, Hematite, Magnesite, etc., Cinnabar, Vermiculites, Amythites, Ammonites, Fuchsite-Quartzite & Diorite porphyry of Karighatta, varieties of Basalts, many minerals & ores of foreign & samples of mud and clay.
Thus we finished visiting both the museums.
We were out with wonders of rocks & minerals around 2:30 pm. We also saw a huge model of Dinosaur, Fossil rocks from St. Mary's Island and other different rocks outside the museum. The campus is very huge covering several kilometers. The Geology Department building was inaugurated in 1961 A.D. Then we had our lunch. We were back to college by our college bus that arrived at 3:30 pm and reached at 3:50 pm having all those memorable sights.
GEOLOGY – ILLUMINATES THE PAST, SUSTAINS THE PRESENT & PROMOTES THE FUTURE.
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A VISIT TO RMC, K.E.R.S. & K.R.S.
It was Thursday, November 13th 2008. As planned earlier & had got permission from our Principal, BUILDERS ASSOCIATION OF INDIA (BAI) – SHILPI WING had arranged a visit to Ultratech Ready Mix Concrete (RMC) Plant, Karnataka Engineering Research Station (K.E.R.S.) and Krishna Raja Sagara Dam (K.R.S.). Hence, all the students of 7th semester Civil Engg students who were in 5th sem then were assembled in college. We departed from college by our college bus along with 30 students, Lecturer Sri Y.R.Suresh, who is also the SHILPI coordinator of our college, Prof. R.G.C.Shekar and Lecturer Miss J.C.Vanitha at 9 am. Our educational excursion started. At first we started to Ultratech Ready Mix Concrete Plant.
Ultratech Ready Mix Concrete Plant:
By 9:30 am we reached the RMC plant. This is situated at Belagola Industrial area, Metagalli, Mysore. The office bearers of BAI consisting of Sri Naidhruva (SHILPI coordinator of Mysore centre), Sri Gurushantappa & Sri Raghunath along with their photographer Mr. Dinesh had arrived to the plant. There Mr. Naidhruva & Mr. Gurushantappa welcomed all and introduced the manager of RMC, Mr. Shashikumar and Quality incharge officer Mr. Ashok to all of us. Mr. Shashikumar & Mr. Ashok took us to Material Testing Unit and RMC batching plant and explained various aspects of RMC, its controlling unit & working of batch plant. Then Mr. Naidhruva thanked the Ultratech RMC Unit on behalf of us for giving such knowledgable information. At 11:15 am we departed from RMC to Karnataka Engineering Research Station.
Karnataka Engineering Research Station (K.E.R.S.):
We arrived to KERS by 11:30 am. KERS was constructed in 1944 A.D. There Mr. Naidhruva introduced the Director of KERS, Mr. Basavaraj Koti. Then we were taken to the concrete lab. There Mr. Basavaraj Koti introduced Sri K.R.Sathyanarayana, Assistant Research Engineer, to us. I knew him from past 5 months as I had attended his wonderful lecture series on “Quality aspects of Concrete” at Institute of Engineers. In KERS, he explained us about Non Destructive Test (NDT) on concrete like Blaine's Air Permeability test, Ultrasonic pulse velocity test. We also saw Building material testing lab with lots of equipments. We couldn't visit other laboratories due to shortage of time. At 12:45 pm, we left KERS and were taken to KRS dam.
Krishna Raja Sagara Dam (K.R.S.):
We arrived at KRS dam by 12:55 pm. This dam was constructed from 1911 AD to 1931 AD across the river Kaveri under the guidance of Sir. M.Vishveshvaraya. It is said that 10,000 people were working each day in the dam site during its construction! Totally 9.6 crores were spent on this. All financial help was provided by the then Maharaja Krishna Raja Wodeyar. Due to his sincere effort, now it has become a life giving river for many districts in Karnataka. This was constructed using Surkhi mortar (burnt lime+clay), size stone masonry is done and rubbles are filled. Its length is 2.621 km, height is 130 ft and width is 111 ft. Its maximum flood discharge is 2.19 lakh cusecs. Total number of sluice gates are 173. Here, Sri Natesh and Sri Honnaraj provided all these information to us. This dam has completed its 75 years.
Then we were allowed to go dowm the dam to see the sluice gates. We took photographs with our friends and faculty and had great fun in water. We departed from the dam by 1:45 pm and went to Hydraulic Model Studies Division of KERS. Here Mr. Swaminath told the importance of model studies and he also explained us about Sea Wall Structures.
After this, we had lunch of bisibelebath, curd rice and sweet as jilebi at Brindhavan Gardens. Food was very nice. We thank our Prof. Shekar and photographer Mr. Dinesh who took many snaps of nature, dam and our group photos. We left the garden by 3:30 pm and then visited Vishveshvaraya Channel (VC) and learnt its significance.
We thank BAI-SHILPI and our College for arranging such an educational programme for us. We left to Mysore City bus stand by 4:30 pm and reached by 5:05 pm. I went back home by 5:45 pm with all these wonderful sweet memories of KRS and KERS.
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FUNDAMENTALS OF STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING & STAAD Pro
With the information of the short term course to be conducted in the vacations with the great initiation from BAI-Shilpi, Mysore Chapter & National Institute of Engineering (NIE), around 14 students from Vidya Vikas Institute of Engineering and Technology – Mysore, 15 students from PES - Mandya, 1 student from each of SJCE - Mysore and MCE - Hassan and a Consultant from K.R.Nagar had enrolled into this Short term course on Fundamentals of Structural Engineering. The course was conducted from 13th July to 18th July 2009 at Golden Jubilee block Auditorium of NIE College. Certificates were given at the end of the course.
STAAD Pro course was conducted by NIE Civil dept from 23rd July to 29th July 2009. Around 12 students of 7th sem Civil Engg attended this course and have got certificates too.
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NEHA, our college 7th sem E.C dept. has developed a mechanism using which a cellphone can double up as a counterfeit note detector. Her project won the Rs 1 lakh prize at the Innovation Challenge, organised recently by Schneider Electric India Private Limited, where she had competed with 150 entries from engineering colleges across the country.
