In Ladakh, the engineer Sonam Wangchuk built ice stupas, “conical ice mounds that behave like mini-glaciers, slowly releasing water for the growing season.” For the first one, “water was piped from upstream by gravity, without using electricity or machinery.” He told The Indian Express: “It is ninth-standard science put to use.”
On November 15, 2016, Wangchuk received a Rolex Award for Enterprise for the ice stupas. The Tribune reported it under the headline “Award for engineer behind 3 Idiots.”