SRINAGAR: The Environmental Policy Group (EPG) has raised alarm over the establishment of a garbage dumping site near the Guryul Ravine Fossil Park in Khonmoh, Srinagar, warning that the action poses an immediate threat to a globally significant geo-heritage site dating back 252 million years.
In a statement, EPG said the dumping site, recently enclosed and marked with a garbage shed, endangers the only known geological formation that contains conclusive evidence of Earth’s first recorded tsunami, preserved in sedimentary layers from the Permian-Triassic boundary. The site is internationally recognised by geoscientists, palaeontologists and climate researchers for its rare fossil records that detail ecological collapse and recovery following the planet’s largest extinction event.
The group cited violations of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986; Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; and the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. It also noted that the dumping site violates prior orders of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, which had directed protection of the site. The fossil park had earlier seen a complete ban on mining and related activity after objections by international geoscientists and a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office, the group added.
“The presence of tsunami-generated sedimentary structures has made Guryul Ravine a focal point of global scientific interest,” the statement read. “The latest developments amount to environmental vandalism and risk irreversible damage to this living geological classroom.”
EPG called upon the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee, Srinagar district administration, and the departments of Geology, Mining, Wildlife Protection, and Rural Development to immediately dismantle the dumping site and initiate legal proceedings against those responsible.
The group said it will move the High Court seeking urgent intervention and enforcement of previous conservation directives. It also appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo to intervene and declare the fossil park and its buffer zone a No-Dumping Zone and Eco-Sensitive Area.
“Guryul Ravine is not just a local feature—it is a geological monument of global relevance. Protecting it is a legal and moral duty,” the EPG said.
