In a positive development, Sonam Wanghchuk, the man who inspired the character of ‘Fungsuk Wangdu’ in the movie 3 Idiots, has created solar-heated military tents to keep the jawans of Indian Army stationed in Ladakh region warm.
It can be used by 10 Indian Army jawans at a time and is portable. Sharing the images on Twitter, Sonam Wanghchuk claimed that the tent can keep the Army men warm at 15 degrees even when it is -14 degrees outside. He also stated that the innovation is climate neutral and is completely made in India.
“Replaces tons of kerosene, pollution #climatechange For 10 jawans, fully portable all parts weigh less than 30 Kgs,” he added.
Sonam Wangchuk is the founder director of the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh and is known for simple yet new solutions for complex problems. The whole institute is designed with solar energy and uses no fossil fuel for cooking lighting or heating. It was started in 1988 when Wangchuk realised that the local kids were losing interest in the conventional methods of learning, manifested in high number of students failing. But the situation improved as the school gained its ground and word spread of its fame.
He is well-known for inventing the Ice Stupa technique to create artificial glaciers. Ice Towers, or ‘Ice- Stupas’, as he preferred to call them, are a form of artificial glaciers formed in a conical shape, to overcome the irrigation problem in the rain-deficient region.
