By Nisar Ali
KHAPLU, Gilgit-Baltistan: In the high mountain valleys of northern Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region, an ancient technology is quietly slipping into history. The traditional watermills, known locally in the Balti language as Renthaq and across South Asia as Pun Chakki, once powered the daily life of entire communities. Today, only a few remain standing, their steady hum replaced by the whir of electric grinding machines.
In the Kharfaq valley of district Ghanche, tucked between the rugged slopes above the Siachen road and the restless waters of the Shyok River, two or three of these centuries-old mills are still in operation. They are among the last survivors of a system that has served the mountain people for thousands of years.
Since shortly after independence in 1947, Gilgit-Baltistan has not officially been part of Pakistan, but forms part of the portion of disputed Kashmir that Pakistan controls. Both Delhi and Islamabad have claimed all of Kashmir since gaining independence 78 years ago, and have fought two wars over the territory.
The region is Pakistan’s only land link to China and is at the heart of the $65 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure development plan.
Ancient Technology in a Changing World
A Panch Chakki runs solely on water pressure. Flowing water strikes the blades of a wooden turbine, setting it in motion. Above the turbine sit two stones: the upper is called Mandok and the lower is called Bardok. As they rotate, grain placed between them is steadily crushed into flour. Simple, elegant, and entirely dependent on the natural rhythms of nearby streams, these mills were once scattered throughout the Himalayas, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush.
For generations, they provided the only way to grind wheat, barley, millet, and maize. But their role has steadily diminished with the arrival of electricity and modern machinery.
A Family Legacy on the Brink
Muhammad Abbas, a 50-year-old resident of Kharfaq, stands among the few remaining custodians of this fading craft.
“Running the Pun Chakki has been our family profession,” he says. “My father ran it before me, and my grandfather before him. I’ve been doing this for thirty years.”
He recalls a village once filled with the sound of turning stones. “We used to have fifteen to twenty mills here. Now only two or three are left.”
Abbas explains the decline with a quiet resignation. With the spread of electricity, electric flour mills quickly replaced the old water-powered ones. “They are faster, easier to maintain, and no longer reliant on mountain streams whose flow can change with the seasons.”
“There are very few people left who even know how to build these mills,” Abbas adds. “Most of the craftsmen have grown old. A couple of us are trying to learn from them before the knowledge disappears completely.”
For families like his, the mills were once a major source of income. Following age-old custom, the miller kept a portion of the flour as payment; one kilo for every 20 kilograms ground. Even today, Abbas says, 70 to 80 percent of his household income comes from the mill.
Memories of a Vanished Era
Eighty-year-old Bibi, known only by her single name, once operated a Panch Chakki in the nearby village of Stronpi. She began when she was just twenty and continued for decades until her mill shut down nearly ten years ago.
“There used to be more than a dozen mills in our village,” she recalls. “Now there isn’t even one. Times have changed. Electricity came, new jobs came. People don’t rely on these mills anymore.”
Road construction sealed the fate of her mill, but Bibi speaks of the past with a sense of pride rather than regret.
“We worked day and night. From this work, we raised our children and built our home. Today my eldest son is a schoolteacher, another works for the government. Now that I’m old, I simply rest.”
A Heritage at Risk
According to Dr. Muhammad Arif, former Director General of Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology and Museums, these mills represent a remarkable indigenous engineering tradition.
“Panch Chakkis are thousands of years old,” he explains. “They were once found everywhere in the Himalayan, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush regions. People had no other means for grinding grain, so they built these mills wherever water and settlement existed.”
With time, however, convenience has won over tradition. Electric mills brought speed and ease, qualities increasingly valued as modern life accelerates. As a result, Dr. Arif says, the watermills are disappearing “rapidly,” with only a handful scattered across the region.
Echoes of Stone and Water
For now, the remaining Panch Chakkis continue to spin in quiet valleys, powered by mountain streams that have flowed for millennia. Their rhythm is slower, their presence quieter, but they stand as living reminders of a time when life moved at the pace of nature.
In the shadow of towering peaks, the old stones still turn, but for how much longer remains uncertain.
