Since we were at Pangong Lake drove to Chushul from there. It took about 3 hours. From Leh it is 148 kms. On public request, the Indian Army made hostels, building in white, for local students. Chushul is at a height of 14,450 feet, maximum temperature 15 degrees minimum minus 45 degrees C.
Hostel is for 40 students, 20 girls and 20 boys. This is for boys. The hostel was yet to be inaugurated as on date of my visit.
Hostel for girls. Loved the facility. The border with Tibet is pretty close. In Chushul also visit the War Memorial. As of August 2016, the Army runs 46 schools in J&K of which 8 each are in Jammu and Ladakh regions and 30 in Kashmir Valley.
Kitchen - the arrangement is that Army spends on creating the infrastructure i.e. building, utensils, pressure cookers etc and parents would spend on meals. Good arrangement because getting the facility up is the toughest part.
Women Empowerment and Adult Literary Centre in Chushul. The WEC is a small one, considering that Chushul is a small village. The Army has also made a new Community Hall for villagers.
Two ladies who had come to the Knitting room and Sewing centre. Since it was harvest season the number of women at the WEC were fewer. They also have a Computer Training Centre with 6 machines that I missed seeing.
Next to hostel is a Government School. Requested the students to pose for a group pic, they happily did so. Realized that school going children, in every part of India, like to be photographed.
Overview of Chushul village. In centre of pic you can see Solar Panels. My driver hails from this village. He was all praise for solar power - said its power charged the inverters that villagers had installed at their home. There is something about Chushul that I liked very much - cannot pin point. May be it being at one end of Pangong Lake - small and relaxed village
with low temperatures.
Green House started by the Indian Army - reduces the demand for vegetables bought from the plains. Very good initiative. AVANI is an ngo in Pithoragarh district of Kumaon doing very good work on various fronts. To see pics
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Inside the Green House. To see pics of Rezang La War Memorial ie about 25 kms away
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This board tells about the importance of Chushul. 3 cheers to the Indian Army who guard the country''s borders in such difficult weather conditions.