You probably have heard of Ladakh’s beloved educationist and innovator, Sonam Wangchuk. He was the inspiration behind Phunsukh Wangdu, the whimsical, genius protagonist of the 2009 film, 3 Idiots.
As an engineer, he pioneered innovative concepts such as Ice Stupas - vertical ice towers developed to combat Ladakh’s acute water scarcity during spring. Wangchuk’s dream project, though, is the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives (HIAL) - an alternative university where youth from different Himalayan countries will convene to research on issues faced by mountain people. This ambitious project, trying to foster collaboration, will benefit tremendously from good connectivity in the region.
Recently, Wangchuk spoke about the potential improved connectivity holds for people of Ladakh in a Facebook post.
This Sunday was very special for me. It was perhaps the first time ever that a person in Ladakh addressed a live seminar in another city using video-conferencing over public Internet.
— Sonam Wangchuk
About 250 Ladakhi students studying in Chandigarh connected with Wangchuk for the seminar, which was organised by the Ladakh Students Association. As is to be expected of a passionate teacher, Wangchuk was quick to emphasise to students the importance of balancing of digital and offline lives.
Sonam Wangchuk thanked Airtel for making 4G connectivity a reality in Ladakh. Having launched in December 2017, Airtel became the first operator to provide 4G services in the Ladakh, and will serve around 130 towns and villages in Dras, Kargil and Leh regions. 4G availability in Ladakh benefits not only the local population, but also the large number of tourists that visit the Ladakh region every year.
High-speed data services will now be available at popular destinations such as Kargil War Memorial, Shanti Stupa, Leh Palace and more. To read and share Sonam Wangchuck’s Facebook post, see here.
This article was produced by the Scroll marketing team on behalf of Airtel and not by the Scroll editorial team.
