Despite passing of a year since recognition of Guryul Ravine at Khonmoh area in Srinagar as a National Geoheritage Site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI), considering its immense geological and palaeontological significance, Government has not taken any measure for conservation of this treasure trove.

The Guryal Ravine is considered to be a repository of Kashmir’s rich history as it is part of the Permian-Triassic Boundary section and possesses sedimentary succession of about 252 million years ago. It is believed that during this period a severe mass extinction wiped out most of life on Earth including 90% of sea creatures and 70% of land life. This transition is known as the “Great Dying” or Late Permian Mass Extinction (LPME) and is recorded in ancient rocks of Guryul Ravine. The ravine has abundant fossils, marking the transition from the Paleozoic to Mesozoic Era, with minimal life in the early Triassic age at the Permian-Triassic Boundary.

As per GSI, the Guryul Ravine Geological section represents one of the only few known complete Permian Triassic Boundary sections in the world. It hosts multiple mega fossil horizons of Bryozoa, Brachiopoda, Bivalve, Gastropoda, Ammonoids and conodonts which are important for understanding the greatest biological revolution and past climate changes of earth, with each rock layer here telling a story worth preserving.

Guryul has also attracted international scientific interest because of sedimentary structures that some researchers have interpreted as evidence of ancient tsunami activity. Studies have........

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