Srinagar, June 12 -- Srinagar- Indiscriminate and unscientific mining in the Sukhnag river in central Kashmir's Budgam district has caused significant damage to the river's morphology and underlying aquifer systems, with potentially irreversible consequences for the ecosystem and local livelihoods, a joint panel has found.

The findings were made in a report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT) last month by a committee comprising officials from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the National Institute of Himalayan Environment (NIHE) and the Jammu and Kashmir Pollution Control Committee (JKPCC).

The committee, which inspected the Sukhnag river on March 18 this year following directions from the NG...