HEALTH
Hawkers
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The management and control of hawkers in the urban areas is the responsibility of the Urban Council, while the New Territories Services Department undertakes this work in the New Territories. There are 36 000 licensed hawkers throughout the territory, over 4 500 of whom are situated in off-street bazaars. The number of unlicensed hawkers tends to fluctuate from year to year, but it was estimated that there were about 16 000 in 1982.
The main objectives of the authorities are to reduce on-street hawking by moving hawkers into public markets, and to confine on-street hawkers to licensed fixed pitches in clearly defined areas. Under the control of district Urban Services officers, the General Duties teams have a manpower of over 2 500 who work in close co-operation with the Royal Hong Kong Police Force in containing the problem of illegal hawking and taking necessary enforcement action.
Abattoirs
The Kennedy Town Abattoir on Hong Kong Island and the Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir in Kowloon supply the bulk of the population with fresh meat. During the year, over 3.02 million pigs and 171 000 cattle were slaughtered in these two abattoirs. An early morning cattle slaughtering service was introduced at the Kennedy Town Abattoir in April.
In the New Territories, the two licensed private slaughterhouses at Tai Po and Yuen Long continued to provide slaughtering services while another private slaughterhouse, in Kwai Chung, will come into operation in early 1983. A new government abattoir planned for Sheung Shui will serve the needs of the new towns in the north-eastern New Territories. Animals slaughtered in the abattoirs and private slaughterhouses are inspected by health inspectors of the Urban Services Department.
Cemeteries and Crematoria
There are five public cemeteries, two public crematoria and seven private cemeteries in the New Territories, and five public cemeteries, two public crematoria and 19 private cemeteries in the urban areas.
The Urban Council operates two funeral depots, one in Hong Kong and one in Kowloon, to provide free services for the disposal of the dead. The Hung Hom Public Funeral Parlour operated by the Urban Council was temporarily closed in July as adequate funeral facilities are available for public use at the two funeral parlours run by the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals.
It is the policy of both the council and the government to encourage cremation instead of burial. During 1982, 59 per cent of the dead were cremated.
A new crematorium at Sha Tin is scheduled to be completed by the end of 1983. Together with the existing crematoria at Cape Collinson, Diamond Hill, Kwai Chung and Wo Hop Shek, it will provide even distribution of cremation facilities throughout the territory.
New Territories Services Department
The responsibilities and functions of the New Territories Services Department in the New Territories are similar to those of the City Services Department in the urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon. They include the maintenance of satisfactory standards of public health, the administration of such services as cemeteries and crematoria, cleansing and pest control, the control of hawkers and the management of public markets and recreational facilities.