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HEALTH
and amenities, pest control, and cemeteries and crematoria in the New Territories. The division is part of the normal government machinery and—unlike services in the urban area of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon-it is not within the purview of the Urban Council. It works closely with other government departments operating in the New Territories, especially with the New Territories Administration and the Public Works Department. The division has planning responsibility for ensuring a balanced provision of Urban Services Department facilities, particularly in the new towns and other development areas.
In 1975 a system was set up for detecting the presence of pesticides in poultry, and samples from both local sources and China are taken for examination. Samples tested so far have yielded results that are within the limits set by the World Health Organisation.
Following the success of an experiment in late 1974, aimed at clearing obstruc- tions caused by the accumulation of refuse and heavy undergrowth along a seven-mile stretch of the Kam Tin River in Yuen Long, further similar operations were carried out in rivers and streams in Yuen Long and Tai Po districts.
Hawker management has been complicated by the general recession, but contain- ing action is constantly undertaken. Major resiting exercises, involving some 1,750 hawkers, were mounted at two noted hawker black spots in the New Territories— in the precincts of the Yeung Uk Road market in Tsuen Wan and in San Hui, Tuen Mun. A major resite operation involving the market and bazaars at Sham Tseng village in Tsuen Wan was also necessary in order to make a work-site available in connection with the construction of a viaduct for the Castle Peak Road project.
The Tsuen Wan swimming pool complex, comprising eight pools of varying sizes and a small adjoining park, was completed in February 1975. This is the first of three major public swimming pool complexes planned for the new town of Tsuen Wan. Despite initial difficulties caused by the polluting effects on the pool water of dust and grit from nearby construction sites and heavy road traffic, the pool was opened to the public in July.
Cemeteries and Crematoria
Disposal of the dead is the responsibility of the Urban Services Department in the New Territories and of the Urban Council in the urban areas.
The Urban Services Department controls five public cemeteries and one public crematorium, and supervises eight private cemeteries in the New Territories. A columbarium at Wo Hop Shek cemetery near Fanling was opened during the year. It is the first columbarium in the New Territories and will provide 1,962 niches for the cremated remains of the deceased.
Six public cemeteries and two public crematoria in the urban areas are directly controlled by the Urban Council, which also supervises 19 private cemeteries. Apart from the two funeral depots operated by the Urban Council, there are four commercial funeral parlours and 38 undertakers licensed to arrange funeral services. The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals also operates a non-profit-making funeral parlour on either side of the harbour.