Kerala’s Varkala Cliffs will be protected: MoS Suresh Gopi

Thiruvananthapuram, June 22 (IANS) Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism Suresh Gopi on Saturday said that the Varkala Cliffs in Kerala will be protected and experts will be engaged for its preservation.

“Varkala Cliff will be protected. Everything will be done scientifically. The government will also engage experts for the protection of these cliffs,” the minister said after a visit to the site.Varkala Cliffs were declared a national geological monument by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in 2014Located about 45 kms from the state capital city, the Varkala Cliffs overlooks the Arabian Sea.There has been a massive erosion taking place over the years which has taken away the laterite soil from the cliff base due to which there has also been a low turnout of tourists in the area.These Cenozoic sedimentary formation cliffs are a unique geological feature on the otherwise flat Kerala coast and are known among geologists as the ‘Varkala Formation’.Over the years there have been studies conducted on how to maintain this unique creation, but not much headway has been made by the successive government.–IANSsg/dan