present in the remaining wooden hut sections of some of the cottage areas. Fire-fighting teams have therefore been established in these areas, drawn from the staff of the Department and from the settlers, sometimes with the co-operation of the local Kaifong Welfare Association. The need for such fire-fighting teams was demonstrated by the number of small fires that occurred during the year which, if they had not been promptly tackled by the teams, might well have caused serious damage. 79. During heavy rains the area staff keep a close watch for any signs of erosion which may lead to landslides or collapses of terraces. There is, indeed, a special organization which comes into operation whenever there are heavy rainstorms. This danger is particularly acute in such areas as Ho Man Tin and King's Park where the terraces have been cut in steep hills of heavily decomposed granite scarred by deeply eroded gullies. During the past five years a considerable programme of anti-erosion and rainstorm protection work has been carried out by the Department's Works Section.
80. Another important difference lies in the fact that whereas the sites for multi-storey estates are formed and developed by the Public Works Department, in the cottage-areas development and maintenance are the responsibility of the Resettlement Department, and it is normally only such work as road surfacing which is carried out by the Public Works Department. The maintenance of the terraces, paths, roads, steps, retaining walls and contour catchwaters cannot in fact be separated from the administration of a cottage area. It is the responsibility of the administrative staff of Area Officers, who work and live on the spot, to report all defects and also to assist, as necessary, in the supervision of the maintenance and new construction work which is carried out by the Department's Works, Section or by contractors under its supervision. 81. Officers in charge of cottage areas are also responsible for day- to-day minor maintenance work, and each area has a small labour force for this purpose in addition to the labour force engaged on scavenging and sanitation. As in the estates, it is the policy to employ settlers for all unskilled or semi-skilled work and also as casual labourers when new construction work is being carried out.
82.
Apart from the type of maintenance work to which reference has already been made the following Government buildings in the cottage resettlement areas are maintained by the Works Section:
30 offices and stores, 46 quarters for Area Officers, and 2,157 Government-owned cottages.
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