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Sanitation
14.
The City has also been notorious for its poor sanitary conditions. This is largely a result of the poor drainage system, the physical configuration of the area, the lack of civic responsibility on the part of the residents and, perhaps, inadequate services provided by the Urban Council (which, strictly speaking has no obligation to provide cleansing service to the area because no rates are collected from the City). Household refuse accumulated at the back lanes together with indiscriminate dumping of debris from the buɛy building activities render the City extremely untidy and unsightly. Although the Urban Services Department is providing regular cleansing service and a team of 16 labourers is responsible for sweeping, removal of refuse from the collection points and keeping the ditches clean, much remains to be done. Continued efforts have been made to improve the situation, especially during the Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign and through large-scale special clean-ups organized by the Urban Services Department and the City District Office. But it appears that with the many in-built difficulties, cleanliness will, for some time, remain a problem.
ocial Services
15.
Various forms of welfare services are being provided by some 10 voluntary agencies, most of them being missionary bodies, running a variety of projects ranging from baby and child care and drug addict rehabilitation to medical clinics and primary schools, usually at nominal charges.
16.
Many residents, ɗ'course, make use of Government facilities in the neighbourhood, for example, it is estimated that there are at least 5,000 primary school age children and yet only about 1/4 of them enroll in schools in the City (of which allegedly 500 go to the Vaifong School); the rest go to outside schools.
17.
For medical services, most of the residents like to consult Government or private clinics outside the City although from time to time, some unregistrable private practitioners are consulted for convenience and expedience purposes, especially in the case of abortion. The some 100 dentists in the City provide a welcome and comparative cheap (1/2 of outside prices) service for the City as well as its neighbourhood.
18.
The major step taken by Government to provide recreational and educational services to the young people aged between 6 and 21 is through the establishment of a Youth Centre at the heart of the City. Opened in December 1974 and run by the ongong Federation of Youth, it is subvented by the Hong Yong Government and has a membership of over 400. The Centre is proving popular as a place for children from the neighbouring congested buildings to relax, study and pursue their own intereste and hobbies. At the same time, it also acts as a very important foothold for Government departments to spear-head their activities into the City. The recent Community Week organized jointly by the Centre, the Social Welfare Department and the City District Office is a good example.
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