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HEALTH
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gazetting. This is being actively pursued jointly by the Urban Services Department, the Royal Hong Kong Police Force, Fire Services Department, Transport Depart- ment and Public Works Department. Only after hawker permitted streets have been gazetted will the real effect of the Hawker By-laws (1972) be seen.
The general policy of not issuing hawker licences has continued and the policy of siting licensed hawkers in off-street hawker bazaars and markets is being pursued as vigorously as the availability of suitable sites allows. The hawker liaison section continues to consolidate its position and has proved effective in the management of licensed hawkers, particularly those operating in off-street bazaars. However, illegal hawking still poses considerable control problems.
The strength of the Hawker Control Force was much depleted during the year. The force now has a strength of less than 250 officers and men, all of whom are deployed on Hong Kong Island. In Kowloon, the police still remain the sole authority for hawker control. Therefore, the Urban Council has agreed that four general duties teams, each consisting of seven officers of overseer rank and above, and 150 labourers, should be set up on a trial basis to assess their suitability to deal with hawker problems. The ultimate aim is to replace the Hawker Control Force with these teams.
It has become obvious, during the year, that the mass transit railway proposals will require the movement of many hawkers, particularly in the side-streets of Mong Kok and Sham Shui Po to allow traffic diversions made necessary by the scheme. This problem is at present under study.
The two government abattoirs-at Kennedy Town on Hong Kong Island and at Cheung Sha Wan in Kowloon-continued to provide a satisfactory service to the public with high standards of meat inspection and hygiene. The total number of animals slaughtered during the year at both abattoirs was 2,493,521 pigs and 159,848 cattle, a daily average of 4,047 pigs and 252 cattle at Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir alone. The construction of an additional pig dressing line at the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir will start soon and the additional line for the Kennedy Town Abattoir will follow shortly. When completed, these will help the abattoirs to cope with the in- creased number of animals admitted for slaughter over the years. A new abattoir to meet the requirements of the expanding population and the new towns in the New Territories is also under consideration. The two private slaughterhouses in the New Territories--one at Tai Po and the other at Yuen Long-continued to operate satis- factorily. Specially trained health inspectors of the Urban Services Department inspect the slaughtered animals, both in the government abattoirs and in the private slaughter- houses.
The New Territories division of the Urban Services Department is fully and directly responsible for environmental hygiene, cleansing, hawkers and markets, rec- reation and amenities, cemeteries and crematoria, and slaughterhouses in the New Territories. It works in close liaison with the New Territories Administration, the Medical and Health Department, the Housing Department and the Heung Yee Kuk, the statutory consultative body in the New Territories. Combatting pollution and upgrading basic services in the rural areas have remained the major concern of the