The fieldwork of Engineering Geology for the B.E. Civil Engineering II/I (Batch 2077) as per requirement in the syllabus was conducted around the Malekhu area of Dhading District from Kartik 25th to 30th, 2079. The fieldwork was led by Dr. Subeg Man Bijukchhen, Mamata Sayami, Nirmal Kafle and Jaya Prajapati.
The fieldwork was divided into two parts. The schedule from Kartik 25th to 27th was fieldwork for the A/B section (46 students) of the class Kartik 28th to 30th was for the C/D section (48 students). The students of each section were divided into eight groups so that learning would be easier through teamwork and group discussion. On day 1, the students were taken to the bank of the Trishuli River to study the handling and use of the geological compasses and learn about river morphology. The students studied various aspects of river erosion and deposition mechanism and use of a geological compass to measure the attitude of the rock exposures.
On day 2, the location was along the Malekhu Khola for the study of different rock types and geological structures. The students were instructed on how to differentiate different rock types in hand specimens and how to identify geological structures (fold and faults) in the field. Additionally, the students were briefed about tunnel and dam site investigation at the proposed dam site of Budhi Gandaki HEP, Gyalchock, Gorkha. They visited the adit tunnel at the dam site. They were given a brief introduction about the different parts of the tunnel and the support mechanism for the tunnel. The next site was the landslide of Krishna Bhir to teach students about mitigating measures for landslides. The site of the last day was the old bridge over the Malekhu River for the study of the rock mass classification system and also to learn about the site investigation of the bridge. The geological fieldwork helped the students to see the rock types, geological structures, river morphology, and site investigation of hydropower projects.
Figure 1. Students of section A/B being briefed by faculty member Nirmal Kafle
Figure 2. Students of section A/B in the evening class at Malekhu.
Figure 3. Students of section C/D visiting the proposed damsite of Budhi Gandaki HEP, Gorkha
Figure 4. Students of section C/D studying the rock type around Malkhu Khola area