Burying History Again: 251-million-year fossil site in Kashmir faces industrial onslaught: GSI

Srinagar, Jul 19: The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has sounded an alarm to the Jammu and Kashmir administration over what it describes as a “serious threat” to the internationally significant Guryul Ravine (international fossil site) in Khonmoh.

In a letter addressed to Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, GSI has urged urgent intervention to stop the ongoing disruption and protect the site, which bears fossil evidence of the Permian–Triassic mass extinction, an event that occurred 251 million years ago and wiped out nearly all life on earth.

“I wish to apprise you about a serious issue regarding the preservation and protection of an internationally significant geological section exposed at Guryul Ravine, Khunmoh, Srinagar. This geological section hosts the evidence of the evolutionary history of Earth and life on this planet. It marks the imprints of the mass extinction of life at 251 million years ago (age of the Permian-Triassic geological boundary),” reads the GSI letter addressed to Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo.

The GSI in its communication notes that the area had been officially protected under the government order No 94-IND of 2017, dated April 3, 2017, through which the Department of Industries and Commerce declared the Guryul site a geological fossiliferous zone covering 9,83,337 sq m.

However, the southern part of the area, the GSI says, has “recently been diverted for industrial use, which will result in the damage and loss of the site and will completely block the access to this rare and important geological site, as the access road is also being blocked.”

Acknowledging the role of industry in economic development, the GSI emphasises, “The use of Guryul Ravine Geological section for geostrategic international scientific cooperation with other countries is highly significant, which is evident from the attached detailed international scientific programmes carried out at the Guryul Ravine site.”

The letter warns that the section holds immense scientific, strategic, and educational potential.

“Considering its international importance, the site has been proposed for National Geological Monument by the GSI, GoI, as it hosts the past climate change signatures at the Permian-Triassic Boundary (PTB) which is very much important for global scientists to understand the impact of present climate changes for the survival of life on planet Earth,” it says.

The GSI also flags that the site has the potential to be proposed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been the focus of scientific collaboration for nearly two centuries.

“The site has been the centre of attraction for global geo-scientists each year since 1837-38. Scientists from countries like Japan, England, USA, Switzerland, Germany, China, Austria, UK, Taiwan, Canada, and India have visited the site,” it says.

In a direct comparison with China’s Meishan D section, the letter says, “The sad state of affairs with Guryul Ravine section in Srinagar is that it is being highly ignored in oblivion in the pretext of economic development, neglecting the scientific and geostrategic importance of this site whereas, the Meishan section in China is being projected by the host country for geostrategic international cooperation and countries image building.”

The GSI adds that the site lies just 1.6 km from Dachigam National Park and falls within the sensitive Khonmoh Conservation Reserve area.

The GSI has urged the Chief Secretary to make necessary arrangements “to urgently stop the industrial use of the protected site already declared and demarcated vide order No 94-IND of 2017 dated April 3, 2017, and ensure its protection and access.”

The Environmental Policy Group (EPG), a Kashmir-based environmental and heritage advocacy group, has also voiced strong support for the preservation of the site.

The EPG has long campaigned for Guryul Ravine to be developed as the Guryul Ravine International Fossil Park, urging the government to recognise its scientific, cultural, and economic potential.

EPG convener Faiz Bakshi said, “We have been raising this issue for years. Guryul Ravine is a natural archive that speaks of life, death, extinction and survival on Earth. Any damage to this site is irreversible. It must be protected, not bulldozed for short-term development.”

Despite being documented since 1886 by British geologist Lt Col Godwin Austen and later noted by Sir Walter Lawrence in The Valley of Kashmir (1895), the Guryul site still lacks on-ground protection like fencing, surveillance, or interpretive signage.

It remains largely unmarked to the public, officials said.

The GSI letter includes an annexure detailing past international collaborations, scientific studies, and notifications related to the site’s declared status.