TSEWANG NORPHEL build glicer in leh..

TSEWANG NORPHEL builds glaciers in Leh. Chewang Norphel, a retired civil engineer and his colleagues at the Leh Nutrition Project have, to date, built 10 artificial glaciers. Mr Norphel was recently nominated for the Asian Innovation Award instituted by the Far Eastern Economic Review and Du Pont. After obtaining a diploma in Civil Engineering, he joined the state government service. His first challenge came in 1966, when he was posted to Zanskar, in Ladakh, as a subdivisional officer. He realized that the need of the hour was a bridge connecting it to the mainland. With the help of the villagers and using a technology that was purely rural – no cement, only local stones, rocks and wood – he constructed a bridge. He was later associated with the building of a number of canals where he did away with the cement lining because it was very expensive and often cracked in winter. Instead, he allowed weeds to grow and thicken with each passing year.