Kashmir Triassic Fossils Effaced : Untold Story || By Bhushan Parimoo || LIVE IMAGE

Kashmir Triassic Fossils Effaced : Untold Story || By Bhushan Parimoo || LIVE IMAGE

Another attempt
has been made  for   Triassic Fossil Park in Kashmir at
Khonmoh, District   Pulwama  . The  Ziraat Times
carried  the news the other day that  the    Environmental
Policy Group  &  Srinagar Smart City Limited CEO cum Commissioner
SMC Athar Amir Khan discussed Kashmir Triassic Fossil Park, Guryul Ravines,
Khonmoh  on the World Tourism Day  .Wherein  a
PowerPoint   lasting  for about two hours  was
presented  for the  events dating back to 260-252 million years 
.

(1) The
Guryul Ravines , Khonmoh, geologically known as Vihi District , are the
repository fossil beds dating back to 260 million years( pre-Dinosaur Permian
period.The Tethys Ocean existed where Guryul Ravine , Khonmoh, now stands. The
Guryul Ravine rocks are scientifically critical for geological research on the
Permian/Triassic boundary which saw sudden extinction of upto 90% of all marine
species and 70% of land species living about 252 million years ago. The Guryul
Ravines is world famous as being among the most complete and important of that
period and enjoyed Global Stratotype status till 2004; yet has been little
studied.The events of massive extinction ( known as mother of extinctions) 252
million years ago are best preserved in Kashmir. The World’s first ever
recorded Tsunami event is well preserved in the rocks of Guryul Ravines. 
 
The
Khonmoh PT section of 3 metres is much larger than 27 cm of Meishan.
Section(China) attracting millions of tourists. A memorandum of understanding
has been signed by Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Natural Reserve New York, USA-
the World’s largest Fossil Park in providing technical support required for
development of Kashmir Triassic Fossil Park.
And a
joint strategy chalked out for developing the internationally acknowledged
Fossil Park in coming weeks. 

Prior
to it the then Director Tourism Kashmir Mehmood Ahmed Shah,  
during  2018  took note of its importance and acquired a land
measuring about 25 kanals  of land  that was duly fenced. He has
written  an elaborate write up  with regards to its relevance to
protect the site and develop   it as a Fossil Park which had far more
importance than other Fossil parks around the world.

But the
point is what has been left  to show  of this exceptionally once
well-preserved organic remains of the camoebians (testate amoebae)  in
marine sediments that straddle the greatest extinction event in the
Phanero-zoic: the Permian-Triassic Boundary. Outcrops from the Late Permian
Zewan Formation and the Early Triassic Khonmoh  deposits represents a
complete sedimentary sequence  here or   elsewhere in the
Kashmir valley of this geological treasure which  had been subjected to
detail investigation  from the beginning of the nineteenth Century
onwards .

While Park shall provide a glimpse of its deposition
history at the same time  scenario all around  shall 
drop      enough horrifying hints  to the
Geological fraternity visitors  from the world   about our
insensitiveness,  and failure  to preserve   these 
invaluable rare  treasures the valley once  possessed   of
which a few remnants  has   been now left here and
there.   Guryul patch in Khanmoh,   being  flat 
, unlike spur around , mining was not profitable that factor came to its rescue
,  otherwise it should have also  met the same fate as have
been   meted with  almost entire   Triassic fossil
pockets  from western end in  Panjratan, near Panthachowk  right
up to Eastern side   up to  Chekh Sangari,  in
between  generally called  Zewan  Spur  entirely 
wiped out without any remorse .

Subjected reckless extraction  
for  masonry stone and raw material for the cement factories.Which has
left  behind  nothing but ugly scars  leaving hardly any trace
of Fossil it once possessed. On the assurance of  anonymity one of
the veteran Geologist sons of the soil when sought his views to be doubly sure
about my field driven assessments   about the Zewan Spur  
and around shared,Zewan spur, a store house of Permian fauna, has almost
completely vanished due to quarrying as a building stone. 

He remembered 
at Indira Nagar, Srinagar, the bulk of the material used to come from the above
site. The rubble used to be full of fossil shells and fenestellid Bryozoa. Felt
painful seeing this treasure getting wasted but had no control .It has not
been done in a day but over decades unhindered  , the license to extract
was issued  not out of ignorance but  for consideration by no one
other than the Director of the J&k  Geology and Mining Department. 

Even an elementary Geological student of the state knows or should know 
its importance, as such the Department of Geology and Mining instead of
protecting it  as  one of the geological treasures has become a
reason  to vandalise and destroy    it  a heinous crime
carried with impunity.Strange enough Kashmir inhabitants who knew its
importance, like Kashmir University. 

Colleges and the geologists of the repute
that inhabit in the valley never raised any objection, reason better known to
them, history cannot and should not  spare them from condemning their
lackadaisical approach. Normally it could have not been done but the inquest
revealed that the department of J&K Geology and Mining is under the
spell of nonprofessional management . Was established  for
Geological explorations to improve upon what was already known in 1960 .Its
mandate has been  to  carry out  the work on Geological
investigation on the laid down  parameters  , State forms one of
the signification segments of the Himalayan range and other formations
correlated formations, unknotting riddles of missing links should have been
matter of intensive and extensive studies , impact of     
climate change ,   abnormal sprouting of Hydroelectric projects,
seismology, Glaciology, Paleontological  and mineral inquest. 

Instead 
it confined itself to as a Royalty contractor,  for permitting to
extract Stones  Bajri, Sand and gravels.     Over  the
passage of time  proved a futile exercise . In its entire history of sixty
years of establishment, out of thirteen Directors the Department has so far ,
only two were  the Geologist. Mr Tasadiq Hussain, its first directo 
another  Sh A, R Mir  rest non technical.  

Geological fraternity
world over is bound to ask rational, behind such a callous approach to deal
with such a sensitive and important subject.   Kashmir has 
Terasic Fossils , at other places too such as  Apharwat,Bren, Gulabgarh,
Gulmarg, Khanmuh,Marhoum,Nagmarg, Muzaffarabadh  , Singpore  etc. It
was Richard Dixon Oldham   during 1904, who  located Zewan beds
in Vihi district Kashmir , that led to further studies by other
Geologists  as well.  The Geologists from the state are second to
none and have created a niche for themselves world over among the geological
fraternity.  

State exhibits its own unique Geological formation, and
possesses a complete Geological calendar. For a Geologist, once in a lifetime
Pilgrimage to Kashmir to study its geology is a desire in preference 
  to acquire  firsthand knowledge and study it from various
aspects.Geological fraternity world over is bound to ask rational, behind such
a callous approach to deal with such a sensitive and important subject.

It requires mention the Geological investigation was started in the State
during Maharaja Ranbir Singh during 1862, before the establishment of
Geological Survey of India was established ,with Frederick Drew serving
 as a Geologist.