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Department of Botany
1. History
The Department of Botany GDC Pulwama, Kashmir is fifteen (15) years old,being
started in 2001 with Prof.G.N Goo as the 1st head. The department offers UGC courses
in Botany and is affiliated to the University of Kashmir, Hazratbal Srinagar. Since its
inception, the department has maintained a very high profile of teaching in different
areas of plant science. Till date, four batches have completed their B.Sc. degrees with
Botany as one of the subjects. Several of them have qualified in PG examination
conducted by the University of Kashmir and other universities in India. The subjects
that are taught in the department include Cell Biology, Molecular Biology,
Biotechnology, Plant Physiology, Plant Genetics, Plant Anatomy, Ecology and
Economic Botany.
The department attracts many students for undergraduate studies from different
corners of the district. In addition to teaching through modern techniques, the botanical
tours are an integral part of the academic program of the department. Young botanists
in the department undergo rigorous theoretical and practical training in classical and
emerging areas in plant sciences by creative and dedicated faculty.
 Faculty Members
The backbones of the department are its teachers headed by Dr Mohd. Shahijahan Dar.
The department consists of five faculty members who have contributed vigorously to
scientific world through scientific and research publications. The faculty members have
published over fifty research articles in more than twenty national and international
journals of repute and also attended national and international seminars, conferences
and workshops.
(Teaching-Faculty Members)
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
Teaching Faculty:
1. Dr. Mohd. Shahijahan Dar (Head of the Department)
Designation
Assistant Professor
Qualification
Area of research
Email id/Phone
Teaching
experience
Research
publications
Ph.D; B.Ed
Plant Pathology
[email protected]/+91-9796751854
06 Years
(13) Book Chapter (01) refresher /Orientation courses
(02)
2. Dr. Javed Ahmad Wagay
Designation
Assistant Professor
Qualification
Area of research
Email id/Phone
Teaching experience
Research
publications
Ph.D; M.Ed
Pharmacology and Microbiology
[email protected]/+91-8715974513
06 Years
(10) Seminars (05) Book Chapter (01)
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3. Dr. Rouf Ahmad Mir
Designation
Qualification
Area of research
Email id/Phone
Teaching experience
Research
publications
Assistant Professor
Ph.D
Morphology and Biotechnology
[email protected] /+91-9018766651
03Years
(07) Seminars (06)
4. Dr. Waseem Raja
Designation
Qualification
Area of research
Email id/Phone
Teaching experience
Research
publications
Assistant Professor
Ph.D
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry
[email protected]/+91-9697520211
01 Year
(13) Seminars (08) Workshop (01) Book (01)
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5. Dr. Manzoor Ahmad Wani
Designation
Assistant Professor
Qualification
Area of research
Email id/Phone
Teaching experience
Research
publications
Ph.D
Plant Ecology and Environment
[email protected]/+91-9906467646
01 Year
04

Supportive staff:
The Department is assisted by some dedicated non-teaching members as:
S.No
01
02
Name
Experience
Designation
Mr. Hamid- u ullah -Shah
30
Lab. Assistant
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Lab. Bearer
08
Lab. Bearer
Mr. Mohd Ashraf Magray
03
Mr. Showkat Ahmad
Ganaie
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 Important Statistical Figures
Strength of students-Batch wise
Class
Year 2012
Year 2013
Year 2014
Year 2015
292
223
233
226
172
135
128
B.Sc 1st Year
B.Sc 2nd Year
113
B.Sc 3rd Year
207
2.
146
225
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Student Facility
 Infrastructure
The department is housed in a three storied building (Science Block) on first floor
consisting of well-furnished staff room, spacious and well equipped student
laboratories, store room and wash room facilities. The department has also a small
but good botanical garden with various species of medicinal plants. It also has other
facilities for students such as:

Separate rooms for conducting theory and practical classes.

Laboratory
with
required
work
benches,
chemicals,
instruments and other facilities for practical work.

Separate rooms for teaching and non- teaching staff.

Wash room facility.
apparatus,
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(Students busy with practical work in laboratory)
(Dr. Waseem Raja giving demonstration to students in laboratory)
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 Laboratory equipments
The equipments which are always at the disposal of students are:
 Centrifuge Centrifuges are machines used in laboratories,
medical facilities and industries to separate suspended
material from the mediums they are mixed with. It has been
used by our pass out students and is presently used in the
laboratory.
 Oven
These are electrical devices which use dry heat to sterilize.
This is widely used to sterilize articles that can withstand
high temperatures and not get burnt, like glassware and
powders. It is always at the disposal of students in the
botany laboratory.
 Slide Projector
It is an instrument which is used to project slide
photographs and to create slide shows. It is used during
the power point presentation of slides and is very easy
and best method of teaching.It is also used at different
occasions such as seminars, delivering of lectures and
other functions.
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 Over head Projector
It is used by the faculty of the department and also by the
students for effective teaching learning process as it
facilitates an easy low cost interactive environment.
 Water distillation Unit
It is frequently used by the students to process the
separation of different component substances from tap
water by the process of evaporation and condensation for
their practical purposes.
 Spectrophotometer
This instrument is often used by our students in
physiology practicals as it is an instrument which is used
to measure the amount of light of a specified wavelength.
 Rotary Microtome
It is an instrument in which wheel action is translated into
a back and forth movement of the specimen being
sectioned. It is used by the students for anatomy
practicals.
 Digital pH meter
pH meters are used by chemists, biologists and scientists
working in laboratories. It can be used in a range of
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applications where acidity/alkalinity is crucial such as in agriculture,
horticulture and domestic gardening. It is one of the most widely used
pieces of laboratory equipment by our students.
 Students Microscope
A student microscope is a low power, durable optical
microscope typically used by the non- scientists and in school
science classes. Although, college students also use this
instrument. But, due to its poor relative quality, our students
use light microscopes in laboratory.
 Dissection MicroscopeAs the name indicates, this
instrument is frequently used in dissecting operations by
the students.
 Digital turbidity meter
The instrument is used to measure the turbidity of different
samples particularly water and bacterial cultures by the
students in the laboratory.
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 Water and Soil analysis Kit
It is used to check the pH of soil and water, oxygen
reduction potential, conductivity, salinity, dissolved oxygen
and temperature of soil and water. It is also used for testing
the nutrients in the soil, purity of drinking water and waste
water.
 Hotplate
It is a portable small appliance that features one, two or more
electric heating plates. In laboratory settings, it is generally
used by the students to heat glassware and its contents.
 Inverter
The department is facilitated with an inverter which is a life
line to the department as it provides uninterrupted power
supply every time to the whole department.
 Digital balance
It is a device used to find accurate measurement of weight.
It is very commonly used by our students in laboratories
for weighing chemicals to ensure a precise measurement
of those chemicals for use in various experiments.
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 Camera
The department has a Sony digital camera which is oftenly
used by the students to capture the pictures of natural
beauty and flora and fauna during the study tour.
 Book facility
The college library houses about
books relevant to the discipline of Botany. The
treasure comprises mainly of books related to introductory Botany, Plant
Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Plant tissue culture, Environment
and Ecology, Plant Pathology, Reproductive biology, Plant Anatomy, Genetic
Engineering, Plant Physiology, Economic Botany. In addition to this, the department
has its own collection of some curriculum related books.
 Subject Tour
The department conducted a one day subject tour. A group of 80 students,
accompanied by both teaching and non-teaching faculty visited a rich biodiversity
region ,Daksum- Anantnag, and its neighboring areas. During their visit, students
with the help of their teachers were acquainted with botanical flora of the region and
their importance in ecology and environmental preservation. The students were also
given
taxonomical
information
about
different
species
of
Gymnosperms,
Angiosperms, Bryophytes, pteridophytes and different types of lichens which are
abundant in the area of study.
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(Students collecting plants for identification during subject tour at Daksum- Anantnag)
 Maintenance of attendance registers
In order to ensure the regularity and punctuality of students of the department, all
the faculty members maintain the attendance registers of all the three classes.
3. Achievements and Future Plans
The department has produced lot of man power for the development of society in the
form of:
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Academicians
Lawyers
Researchers
KAS Officers
Entrepreneurs
Politicians
 Participation of faculty in various courses
The faculty members of this department are participating in various courses for the
upliftment of education system in J&K.
1. Distance education for teaching B.Ed courses of Kashmir University.
2. Coaching classes for PG entrance examination for Kashmir University and other
Universities of India.
3. Refresher/orientation courses for the faculty development.
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 Academic Performance
Session
2011-12
2012-13
2013-14
Class
B.Sc 1st year
B.Sc 2nd year
B.Sc 3rd year
B.Sc 1st year
B.Sc 2nd year
B.Sc 3rd year
B.Sc 1st year
B.Sc 2nd year
B.Sc 3rd year
Total No. of Total
No.
candidates
candidates
appeared
passed
271
113
242
176
227
219
205
97
141
131
195
180
121
75
120
109
140
137
of Pass
percentage
41.69
75.07
98.64
51.50
94.24
92.78
61.98
90.00
97.85
 Participation of faculty in College Administration
The faculty of this department actively participates in the development of the
college, extracurricular activities, and conduct of examinations and in admission
process. All the faculty members are involved in various developmental
committees of the college such as:
 Admission Committee
 Excursion and subject tour committee
 Research committee
 College vehicle committee
 NAAC/IQAC Committee
 Sports committee
 Landscape development committee
 Future Plan of Action
The department aspires to undertake studies on Assessment of genetic
divergence and in vitro conservation of some endangered medicinal plants.
Herbal medicines have been used by man from times immemorial .The interest
in the use of medicinal plants as pharmaceuticals, home remedies, cosmetics and
perfumes has magnificently increased in the modern times. Therefore, the invitro propagation and conservation will help in maintaining the supply of these
natural resources on sustainable basis for prosperity.
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 Courses Taught
The department teaches different courses in plant sciences whose details are:
B.Sc.Ist Year (semester-I)
Unit: I
The cell structure and organization
Unit: II
i. Chromosome organization
ii. Genetic Material
iii. Chromosome alterations
iv. Cell Cycle
Unit: III
i.RNA
ii. Regulation of gene expression in prokaryotes
iii. Gene mutations
Unit: IV
Plant Genetics
B.Sc 2nd Year
Unit: I
i.The root system
ii. The Shoot System
Unit: II
Leaf, flower and seed
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Unit: III
The cell architecture and organization
Unit: IV
Plant Genetics
Unit: V
Cytogenetics
B.Sc 3rd Year
Unit: I
i.Plants water relations:
ii. Mineral nutrition:
iii. Transport of organic substances:
iv. Proteins
v. Basics of enzymology
vii. Lipids
Unit: II
i.Nitrogen metabolism
ii. Photosynthesis
iii.Respiration
Iv. Growth and development.
v. Seed dormancy
vi. Physiology of flowering
vii. Plant movements
viii. Plant hormones
Unit: III
i.Plants and environment
ii. Ecological adaptations
iii. Forest types of India
iv. Biogeographical regions of India.
v. Population ecology
vi. Community ecology
vii. Ecosystems
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Unit: IV
i. Archaeobotany and Ethnobotany
ii. Food Plants
iii. Fibers
iv. Vegetable oils
v. Wood
vi. Spices and Condiments
vii. Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (MAPs)
viii. Beverages
Unit: V
i.Tissue culture
ii. Genetic engineering
iii. Polymerase chain reaction
Besides the above mentioned courses taught, several practical classes covering the
subjects of theory are also conducted in all the three years by the department.