Chewang Norphel: The Ice Man Who Grew Glaciers in the Desert

A civil engineer from Leh

Norphel was born on 22 December 1936 in Leh. He studied science at Amar Singh College in Srinagar. He completed a civil engineering diploma in Lucknow in 1960.

In June 1960, he joined Jammu and Kashmir’s rural development service as a civil engineer. His work included roads, bridges, canals and buildings.

Field experience helped him understand village water needs and local terrain. His later ice stores applied engineering to a familiar agricultural problem.

Leh lies in Ladakh. During his government career, Ladakh formed part of Jammu and Kashmir.

Sources: Award biography · Norphel’s 2013 interview.

The water arrived later than the sowing need

Ladakh is a cold desert. Farming depends heavily on water from melting snow and ice. The growing season is short.

Farmers need water as cultivation begins in spring. Higher natural glaciers remain cold longer, so their stronger meltwater supply can arrive too late.

Norphel built his first artificial glacier at Phuktse Phu in 1987. The village name also appears as Phuktse or Phuktsey. The project stored winter water closer to the village and below the high natural glaciers.

Think of filling a water tank before a dry period. The tank does not create water. It changes when stored water becomes available. Norphel used ice as the seasonal store.

Sources: Award biography · Norphel’s 2009 interview · Water conservation case study.

Divert, slow, freeze and release

First, divert winter stream water. Channels or pipes carry water towards a suitable shaded site. Shade helps protect the ice from direct sunlight.

Next, slow and spread the flow. Small stone barriers and channels help water collect and freeze. Repeated freezing builds a seasonal ice store.

Finally, collect the spring melt. Lower ice stores can melt before high natural glaciers provide sufficient irrigation water. Channels carry the released water towards fields.

The barriers and channels guide water through the landscape. They do not make cold air or use chemicals to freeze the stream.

Sources: Award biography · Water conservation case study.

Useful irrigation depends on the site

Extra spring water can help farmers when fields need their first watering. Norphel also described groundwater recharge and the revival of springs among the benefits.

One Phuktsey project cost about ₹90,000. That figure is not a standard price for every artificial glacier. Slopes, roads, building materials and transport affect the cost.

By 2012, Norphel had built 12 artificial glaciers. This is a historical count. It should not be read as the number functioning today.

More irrigation water does not automatically create two harvests every year. Crop choice and the short growing season still constrain farming. Extra watering and an extra complete crop are different outcomes.

Sources: Water conservation portfolio · Norphel’s 2013 interview · Ice-reservoir field research.

Construction alone does not guarantee water

Channels need maintenance to keep water moving to the intended site. Norphel identified neglected canals and damaged structures as practical problems.

Villagers also need plans for shared repairs and water use. An ice store serves several users, rather than only the person who built it.

Weather and natural hazards can reduce performance. These ice stores do not replace natural glaciers or stop the region from warming.

Judge an ice store by usable water delivered when fields need it. A large winter ice mass alone does not prove reliable irrigation.

Sources: Norphel’s 2013 interview · Ice-reservoir field research.

Government service and village projects

Norphel retired from government service in 1995. He later worked with the Leh Nutrition Project, a local organisation involved in watershed development.

A watershed is an area whose water drains towards a common outlet. Managing that area connects streams, slopes and village water needs.

The Leh Nutrition Project helped organise ice-store construction. Support also came through government programmes and the Indian Army’s Operation Sadbhavana.

Public support can fund construction, but maintenance still needs attention. Norphel’s interviews connect engineering design with the everyday work of keeping shared channels useful.

Sources: Norphel’s 2013 interview · Award biography · Norphel’s 2009 interview.

Two awards and a documentary

In 2010, Norphel received the Jamnalal Bajaj Award. His category was Application of Science and Technology for Rural Development.

In 2015, he received the Padma Shri, India’s fourth-highest civilian award. The two honours belong to different award systems.

Aarti Shrivastava directed White Knight, a documentary about Norphel and his water-conservation work. A film can introduce his story, while engineering evidence explains how the method works.

For recall, connect the nickname with the practical contribution. The “Ice Man of Ladakh” is remembered for storing water as ice for village irrigation.

Sources: Jamnalal Bajaj Award · 2015 Padma awards · Film festival programme.

A vertical cone uses a different design

Sonam Wangchuk and his team developed an ice-stupa prototype during winter 2013–2014. Their work built on earlier artificial-glacier experience.

Norphel’s method spread ice across shaded ground. An ice stupa builds a tall cone by spraying water into freezing winter air.

In a gravity-fed design, water comes from a higher intake. The height difference supplies pressure for the spray. A pump is therefore unnecessary where the site provides sufficient height difference.

The cone reduces exposure to direct sunlight relative to its stored volume. Both approaches aim to hold winter water until irrigation needs rise.

Remember the distinction through shape and method: spread ice on shaded ground versus a sprayed vertical cone. Neither design removes the need for suitable water supply and freezing conditions.

Sources: Ice Stupa case study · Ice-reservoir field research.