The Quiet Heat: India’s Geothermal Gamble Beneath the Himalayas
In a silent corner of Ladakh’s Changthang plateau, where the land is so dry that even the wind seems brittle, a plume of steam rises from a field speckled with goat droppings and prayer flags. For centuries, nomadic shepherds here have treated the sulphuric springs of Puga Valley as little more than natural oddities—bubbling pools that boiled yak bones and warmed cracked palms during the long, cruel winters.
Now, a different kind of pilgrim has arrived. Wearing ONGC (Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ) coveralls and sporting helmets that look absurdly futuristic against the desolate backdrop, a team of geologists and engineers is drilling 1,000 meters into the Earth’s crust. They’re not looking for oil. They’re looking for heat. And in that heat, they’re hoping to find the future.
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