Im sumi so much got to thank you so much for joining us on news asia today well we start with the heat wave that continues to batter india extreme temperatures across the north and the east of the country have caused hundreds of deaths in the south the searing hot spell has led to severe water shortages the situation has reached a crisis point in chennai this is india 6th biggest city chennais 4 main water reservoirs have dried up take a look at the satellite images from one year ago you can see the water levels there and this is what it looks like now residents are desperate for rain but monsoon season and will not do isnt supposed to come until late in the fall locals are now blaming authorities for failing to recognize the shortage and deal with it early on. Barren and almost bone dry this reservoir is down to its last one percent of water. A shepherd has led his animals to the last few drops. And this is what Red Hills Lake should look like. But now an acute drought has crippled chinois water supply after months of high temperatures and extreme water scarcity expects say the situation is great. For last 2 years theres a deficit in the rainfall that is one thing the 2nd thing is. Chad they always go through the cycle of 4 fighter 10 years we have the cycle where the rainfall actually fails the city and the city chimed off to his sand familys water more than 40 days ago since then theyve had to buy drinking water. They still get enough from the tap thanks to their underground tanks to mary keep it here. The systems collect and treat rainwater during the monsoon season. This way they can survive dry spells but now their reserves are running out. Ok every month. And last month what happened to my dogs ok i did not get the one a drop of water so that is one. Of the responsibilities. Shuts off its water supply the city turned to sending tanker trucks into disparate villages to fill them at top. Drivers. From other regions throughout the country. People suffering a lot from the. Weve had more than 500 books to deliver water. Only the neighborhoods are provided with. No not every day deliveries often come with drama the mood among the locals. Its not long before the situation escalates. Out of the now of the night we get water through that pump but it is sewage water and has a foul smell they will tell us to use that water for daily needs at the other end of the same street people get water delivered by water tanks every day but we dont get it residents here have had to pay water tax for the past 2 years now theyre demanding clean Water Supplies to fill up their own time. And recent times chennai has become one of indias key industrial engines. Paved over not troll water sources the state Supreme Court has told tonight to stop this but little has been done. Several rivers flow through chennai one is being widened to create another lane for river traffic the Water Quality is miserable the shredder like many here more like open sewers. For the garment of talking about early or e. U. Thing go through it treating it who are who are acceptable foundered with can we with when and with 3 for that there we are trying to eliminate industry at the meeting with a pure fresh water. Outside chennai the result of industries appetite for fresh water is laid bare the water table has fallen dramatically on top of that the farmers grow rice and sugar cane both develop. The women say their husbands are forced to seek walk in the cities to support their families. If it had rained it would have been better for the crops and for us but there is no water even to drink the situations disastrous. At the Red Hills Lake reservoir drug conditions make renovations easier to upgrade since it was built in 1010 by british engineers the region has long struggled with periods of drought the State Government plans to invest dufty 3000000 euros in the water supply which is holding out for the monsoon only my old rains are forecast not nearly enough to quench the thirst. And we can get the latest on the story today these british vanity is standing by in delhi monitoring the situation in chennai good to see you we heard the accusation in our report from locals that authorities did not do enough to get ahead of the situation is that a fair accusation heiser me to a great extent yes i would say and thats what a number of experts are saying as well you must bear in mind that chennai which is a couple of the state of time allowed to a longer time enough to get rains from whats called the northeast monsoons of these happened between the months of october and december now as far back as generating it became clear that these monsoons what a failure in many ways which is to say that the state of time allowed to enhance by extension did not get the amount of rainfall that was expected this very important to feel the reza was that we saw a glimpse of those reza was which are completely dried up in that report that you just said now the State Government knew about this in january they instituted a bit of water rationing but thats about it so you basically had a situation in which youre now i was heading to an acute water shortage in the summer months and a State Government that really wasnt prepared but beyond this to me what is really important to look at is beyond the Current Administration of the current government it is literally been a failure of successive governments and successive administrations in chennai to stop the massive spread of open eyes ears of genoa is a fairly a green city it has clearly a vase it has 4 reza was it has 5 wetlands 6 forests most of these online polluted and not usable a lot of them have dried up its literally been poor poor old Water Management to blame for the successive year as a lot of this openness mission is growth that i mention has been happening on the banks of the river as it has been happening on lake beds so a lot of these waters sources have been depleted without any order to me to replace them. So the situation is bad erase youre saying and it looks like its only going to get worse what can be done at this point other than waiting for rain while at the moment and those doing what it can do best which is look at Short Term Solutions in which theyre trying to bulk up the resources that are available to the city and by that i mean looking at the 3 major obesity measures from plants that provide water to the city theyre working at nearly Maximum Capacity to achieve maximum efficiency other than that the number of tankers that are being made available in the city has gone up there are proposals that are talks to bring in piped water from more than 200 kilometers away and there is also talk of sending in water through through very wagons into the city thats the sort of major offer but of course that throws open the longer term question as to what is jennas Long Term Strategy to manage the situation in the future and that is where exports of course knowing that things like really want to harvesting need to be implemented in form so that the city has water as it was to tide over these kinds of periods and there is also an appeal being made to the citys residents to perhaps change their water Consumption Habits because clearly geny. Doesnt have so much water that it can be pretty witnessed all up on when needed do you have these banners you reporting in delhi for us thank you very much. Now its a ritual many of us are familiar with the experience of getting up in the morning and going to school for some children the path to the classroom is more difficult than others in the end mark more than half of the countrys children live in poverty according to the United Nations childrens Agency Unicef and half of 17 year olds enter adulthood with little or no Education Access to schooling is part of the problem in areas where there is no public transport and schools are thin on the ground a new initiative is addressing just that problem take a look. Biking to beat the school bell. Not long ago these kids had to walk to classes for some a journey of up to 2 hours now with pedal power it takes only minutes. An initiative called less walk to the recycle bikes. Students who live more than 2 kilometers from school are 1st in line to get a life changing ride. And when set up less work to give kids easier access to education. These bikes can help students get to school in just 15 minutes rather than one hour by food they would. Be better focused on their education so hopefully wont drop out. Of foundered less work after a string of Bike Sharing Companies pulled out of singapore malaysia thousands of behind so tanned started shipping them to me and ma and now local kids like this are reaping the benefits. That thats over yet i have more time to study and play with friends right next time. I wont need to get up so early and walk for 2 hours. I dont know that id like to. See that now i have a bike i wont be so tired from all the walking time and math. If all goes to plan less work hopes to hand out 100000. 00 bikes over the next 5 years giving a rolling start to these kids future all right thats it for now be sure to check out our other stories on w dot com slash asia or on facebook and twitter. Not today is 0 world day so well leave you with a massive session in the indian city of brunch with Prime MinisterNarendra Modi leading the bending and stretching 30000 yelled at those yes well see you next time. What secrets lie behind peace may. Find him an immersive experience and explore the fascinating Cultural Heritage sites of. The d w World Heritage 362 feel. Im not often out of the job well i just sometimes am but i still often without. Thinks deep into the german culture of looking at the stereotypes the question but interesting to see you from the countries that im playing. Needed to take the scrum on their toes its all that they knew i might show join me to meet the german sunday w. Post. As the conflict between iran and the u. S. Over talks on ships is heating up u. S. Authorities the launch pits of iranian airspace is unsafe and demand u. S. Registered aircraft must avoid. Other International Carriers are following suit. And tearing through the head of taiwans fox kong is stepping down to enter politics following a bit of divine intervention. Also on the show rags to riches ties style however once for some of the fishermen is making millions today selling fish on facebook. This is business. As welcome as a military clash between the u. S. And iran looks only to have been narrowly averted the tensions making the air above iran unsafe some of the worlds biggest allies voiding flying over the sect over a section of the rain in a space after a u. S. Military drone was shot down americas federal Aviation Administration has banned all u. S. Registered passenger jets from passing through iranian controlled parts of the gulf of oman and the strait of hormuz other areas are also taking action. A Global Hawk Drone like this one has a wingspan greater than a