Varkala cliff in Thiruvananthapuram would soon be declared as a National Geological Monument by the Geological Survey of India (GSI). The first step of the GSI towards making the cliff and adjoining areas the country’s first national geo-park.
All the conditions are making the cliff a national geological monument. The decision is pending with the Department of Mining and Geology - Government of Kerala. Director General, GSI, had visited the cliff and adjoining places last year as part of granting it the national geological monument status. The GSI had found that Varkala was the only place in the West coast of the country where sediments in the Mio-Pliocene age had been exposed. The cliff will be the 27th national geological monument in the country and the second in Kerala after the Angadipuram Laterite.
GSI will be to declare the surrounding areas of the monument a national geo-park. The Centre has sanctioned one crore already for the maintenance and protection works for a geo museum to set up at Varkala. The GSI had taken several measures to be initiated by the local body and the Tourism Department before the cliffs could be declared a geo-park. The steps include reduction of human activities in there, shifting of the helipad, and construction of a seawall throughout the length of the cliff.
Varkala, which has emerged as a popular beach destination, stands a good chance to find a place in the UNESCO’s world map of geo-heritage sites.