A team of three professors from CUJ is leading a three-year project titled “Field-based 3D Laser Scanner Structural Mapping and Monitoring of Buddhist Monasteries for Conservation Planning Incorporating Natural Hazards in parts of Lahaul-Spiti, Ladakh, Cold Desert Region of India.”

Sanctioned by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, under its Science and Heritage Research Initiative (SHRI), the project has been allotted a budget of ₹1.14 crore and is being implemented by CUJ’s Department of Geoinformatics

Prof. Arvind Chandra Pandey, principal investigator, said the project uses LIDAR technology and 3D laser scanning to create structural maps of monasteries, both interior and exterior. The aim is to assess their current condition and vulnerability to environmental hazards, especially those arising from changing climate conditions.

DST has also funded the installation of two Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), one at Lamayuru and the other at Karsha monastery in Zanskar. These stations will provide ongoing climate data. The research team recently visited Ladakh and installed the first AWS after identifying a suitable and secure location near the monasteries.

Dr. Chandrashekhar Dwivedi, co-principal investigator from the Department of Geoinformatics, said the project will support long-term conservation efforts and help in planning for risks such as floods, cloudbursts, and soil erosion. Structural data combined with climate records will allow authorities and local communities to take preventive steps. Dr. Konchak Tashi, co-investigator from CUJ’s Department of Far-East Languages and a native of Ladakh, said both Lamayuru and Karsha monasteries are among the oldest in the region, each over a thousand years old. These sites fall in zones identified as prone to cloudburst events. The monasteries house preserved Buddhist texts, including the Tripitaka, in Tibetan translation, written on tadpatra—ancient manuscripts made from leaf-based material. He said these materials are at risk from weather-induced damage and require protection based on reliable data and scientific planning. The CUJ team’s visit to Zanskar was met with cooperation from local monks. As a gesture of respect, the researchers were honoured with khata scarves. The exchange, quiet and without ceremony, reflected a shared understanding of the work at hand. One side brings generations of spiritual knowledge and local memory, the other brings tools for measurement and documentation.

CUJ Vice Chancellor Prof. Kshiti Bhusan Das appreciated the researchers’ work and said the project reflects the role of science in cultural preservation. He acknowledged the use of modern technology to document and support the continuity of valuable heritage sites in remote and vulnerable regions. The project continues over the next three years. During this period, the researchers will collect more structural data, track changing climate patterns, and support the development of site-specific conservation plans. For now, the monasteries remain still in the Ladakhi landscape, but their condition, structure, and surroundings are now being recorded and monitored—giving future generations a chance to understand and protect what remains.

DD-News Ladakh Coverage