Restoring Water Supply to Phutkar Monastery, Ladakh

The Situation

The Phutkar Gompa or Phutkar Monastery is one of the very few Buddhist monasteries accessible only by foot. In the remotest areas, Phutkar Gompa sits about 3900 above sea level in Lungnak Valley, Ladakh region, Northern India. The monastery is believed to have been visited by numerous sages, scholars, translators, and monks around 2,550 years ago.

At present, it is home to nearly 100 monks who, for decades, sourced all of their water from a freshwater spring near the river. However, over the last decade or so, this water source has run dry, leaving the monks with no other option but to source water from a natural spring, walking about 1000 metres below the monastery.

This walk is arduous and equally exhausting, given the frigid climatic conditions and high altitudes. Every day becomes a challenge for these monks to walk at least 30 minutes to access clean and safe water, especially during the harsh winter months of December to March. In November 2021, the monastery reached out to see if a solution was available to ease their water problem.

Challenges

There are primarily four signifcant obstacles to the water supply in Phutkar:

• Highly erratic precipitation in the region due to climate change makes it almost impossible to depend on a regular water source. The river also begins to freeze deeper and deeper, making it impossible to source water.
• The lack of a reliable and long-term power source makes it challenging to pump out whatever little water remains.
• The natural springs are also not the most dependable water source, as they often have inadequate quantities.
• Crossing 1000 meters in the bitter cold and deep snow to access fresh water.