Chewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer of 79 years, has always been a solution supplier. The narrative begins in 1966 when he was assigned as a Sub Divisional Officer to Zanskar, one of Ladakh’s most underdeveloped and inaccessible places. He and his crew were responsible for constructing school buildings, bridges, canals, roads, and other infrastructure in that area. Due to a dearth of experienced personnel, the task was extremely difficult to complete.
As a result, he began undertaking the masonry work himself and taught a few people to assist him. When he returned to that hamlet after a few years, he saw that the locals he had educated had become expert Mistry and were earning good incomes.
Years ago, on a frigid winter morning in Ladakh, India’s northernmost Himalayas, a young and curious child in a remote mountain village watched water gushing out of a semi-frozen pipe, accumulating in a tiny crater on the ground, and freezing, exactly like a glacier.
A few decades later, in 1986, as a civil engineer with the Jammu and Kashmir Rural Development Department, the boy, Chewang Norphel, took inspiration from his childhood observations and created the first artificial glacier in picturesque Leh, thereby solving a water crisis faced by the local community, of which at least 80% were farmers growing barley and wheat.
“It gave me a great pleasure. I was happy to see that a little support from my side had changed their lives,” Norphel says. This was just the beginning of the wonders he was destined to do.
He is now known as the “Ice Man of India,” and he has built ten artificial glaciers in Ladakh to help residents cope with water scarcity in this frigid, mountainous region.
Ladakh, a stunning region with breathtaking landscapes and amazing beauty, takes everyone’s breath away. But that is not the case for the inhabitants of Ladakh, whose lives are made more difficult by the cold, dry, and barren environment than we can fathom.
Fortunately, the situation is gradually improving, as Ladakh now has artificial glaciers to suit its demands, and people may appreciate Norphel for his incredible effort.
Norphel, who was born in 1936, hails from a farming family and worked for the government for more than 36 years until being forced to resign owing to ill health. Being at home was not something Norphel looked forward to, and the awful living circumstances in Ladakh bothered him. He considered putting his engineering abilities to greater use.
“I built almost all of the roads, culverts, bridges, buildings, and irrigation systems in Ladakh,” Norphel claims. His most significant accomplishment, however, was the creation of artificial glaciers.
Ladakh is a chilly alpine desert with a low average rainfall of 50 mm per year, leaving residents reliant on glaciers as their major water source.
80 per cent of the people are dependent on agriculture, and the water that melts snow and glaciers is their primary supply of irrigation water. Because of global warming, glaciers are melting swiftly, making it harder for farmers to obtain appropriate water. On the other side, a lot of water is lost during the winter months since farmers are unable to cultivate crops owing to the extreme cold. So I reasoned that if we could save this water in the shape of ice, it would be of some use to farmers throughout the irrigation time, especially during the planting season. Because they are so near to the communities, the fake glaciers melt faster. The artificial glaciers, being quite close to the villages, melt earlier than the natural glaciers. Also, getting water during the sowing period is the most crucial concern of the farmers because the natural glaciers start melting in June and sowing starts in April and May,” he says.
He had the concept after seeing water dripping from a tap kept open to prevent the water from freezing and breaking the tap during the winter. As it came into contact with the ground and formed a pool, the water gradually froze into the shape of an ice sheet. It occurred to him that the water that melts from natural glaciers due to high summer temperatures wastes as it runs into the river. Instead, if this water can be held in the summer and fall to build a glacier in the winter, this artificial glacier will melt in the spring and deliver water to the villages at the appropriate time.
It was now time to take action, and he applied all of his engineering expertise, field experience, and enthusiasm. In Phutse village, he began his first experiment. He built canals to divert water from the mainstream to minor catchment areas four km from the hamlet. He also built a sheltered chamber to keep the water frozen throughout the winter.
Furthermore, because these glaciers are located at a lower height of 13,000 feet than the original glaciers, which are located at 18,000 feet, they begin melting sooner than the main glaciers and give water to the people when they are most needed in April.
“The main technique used to create artificial glaciers is to control the velocity of water to the greatest extent possible.” Because the location is mountainous, the gradient of the streams is particularly severe. As a result, the water in the main streams rarely freezes. So we redirected the water to a shade location by creating a diversion canal with a gentle gradient. When it arrives at the location, the water is discharged downhill of the slope, spreading it in a modest quantity to reduce velocity, and we have built ice retaining walls in series side by side to preserve the frozen water. This is the complete artificial glacier process.”
His first project set him back Rs. 90,000. The glacier’s breadth spans from 50 to 200 feet, and its depth from 2 to 7 feet. This low-cost strategy relied only on locally produced materials and community assistance. So far, Norphel has successfully constructed ten glaciers. The shortest is 500 feet long in Umla and the longest is 2 km long in Phutse.
His initiatives have enhanced agricultural productivity, consequently improving local revenue. This has also curbed urban migration. His simple technology has brought water closer to the communities, and more crucially, it has made it available when the inhabitants most need it.
“You reap what you sow.” There is no question that nothing is impossible in the world if one has great drive and perseverance. That’s what I think,” Norphel says.
His simple notion has earned worldwide recognition, and he has demonstrated that while man is responsible for upsetting nature, he also can preserve it. All you need is the correct intention.
