Smugglers Target World's Second Oldes Fossil Park

SIDDHARTH KALHANS
SONBHADRA (UP)
Imagine in the rocky terrains of Sonbhadra there use of an ocean and that too rich in aquatic life.
And one of richest fossil park of Uttar Pradesh with remains as old as 170 crore years have become a happy hunting ground for the smuggler. The algi fossils situated in the Salkhan park spread in an area of 25 acres are being stolen and smuggles. The rich heritage which is of great geological importance is lying neglected in the Markundi area of Sonbhadra district. In the entire park the fossils are sprea without any safety or security and is easily acessable for the smugglers.
Eminent geologist and faculty member in the department of Geology, Lucknow University, Professor Vibhuti Rai while informing about the age of the fossils said that it is second oldest in the world. `These are algal structures which look like fossil remains of tree and it is second oldest after China', said Prof Rai. Geologically it is of the stramatolite age and its dating has been done by severl big institutes including National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), informed Prof Rai who has written an international paper of these algal structures. He said that such rocks are found in the lower Vindhyan range. `You can trace the history of life from a place like this and geologically this entire region is very important', said Prof Rai. He said that it is known as fossil park but it is yet to get the shape of a park. `In fact with the efforts of some locals the forest department declared it a protected place but basic amenities are lacking here', informed Prof Rai.
Giving details of the park, member divisional advisory committee for tourism, Vijay Shankar Chaturvedi, said that on August 8, 2002 the park was inaugurated by the then district magistrate Bhagwan Shankar. `It was then that this place hit the headlines and four months later a team of world level scientists arrived in Sonbhadra', said Chaturvedi. Geologist at the KSV Institute of Geology, S Swaroop too confirmed that the fossils in Salkhan park are 170 crore years old and if the number of fossils per square meter is concerned this park is richer than Yellow Fossil Park of US.
However Chaturvedi who was instrumental is setting up Salkhan Fossil Park said that smugglers are active in this area and a visit to the park confirmed his claims. Remains of stolen fossils are seen everywhere in the park and some broken pieces are also visible. The guard room at the fossil park was