Ladakh, the crown of our country stands beautifully coveredwith mountains and exquisite scenery. The land is a paradise for tourists, butthat’s not what the locals of the place think. For them, it is a cold, dry andinfertile area where they have to struggle for basic water needs every year.Chewang Norpel decided to put his engineering skills to good use. He was theone who created artificial glaciers to facilitate water to this dry mountainousregion. This man is today known as the ‘IceMan of India’for creating 10 artificial glaciers in Ladakh.
A 79-year-old retired civil engineer, Chewang Norphel came torescue his people from the struggles of nature by modern innovation. In 1966, he was posted in Zanskar in Ladakh asthe Sub Divisional Officer. He had to construct school buildings, bridges,canals, etc. as there was a shortage of skilled labor so he started doing the3masonry work himself and also trained other villagers. After few years when hereturned, those villagers were earning handsome money by being a well-skilledmason.
Ideabehind artificial glaciers
The idea first struck his mindwhen he saw a slowly running tap that was left open so that the water does notfreeze. The water then froze into the shape of an ice sheet when it touched theground. He then remembered that the water that melts from natural glaciers insummer goes to waste as it flows into the river. Norphel then thought that ifthis water could be stored in summer and autumn so that it can become anartificial glacier in winter. This artificial glacier would melt in spring toprovide water at the right time.
He then decided to put all hisskills into action. He began with his experiment in Phutse village. He madecanals to divert the water from the mainstream and also created shaded areas tokeep the water frozen in winters. These glaciers are located at a loweraltitude of 13,000 feet from the original glaciers they start melting earlier than the mainstreamones and because of this, they are able to provide water to the villagers inApril.
In an interview with the betterIndia he explained, “the main technique used to create artificial glaciers isto control the velocity of water as much as possible. The region is a hillyarea and that is why the gradient of streams is very steep”.
The artificial glacier’s widthranges from 50 to 200 feet and the depth from 2 to 7 feet. Well, the total costof his first project was Rs 90,000. His cost-effective model only used localmaterial and help from the area's local community.
His simple engineer mind receivedappraisal and recognition across the globe. “as you sow, so you reap. There isno doubt that if one has strong determination and dedication, there is nothing impossiblein the world.”, believes Norphel.