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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN.
Before proceeding with the business of the meeting, I have much pleasure in welcoming the Honourable H. W. FORSYTH, the Acting Director of Public Works, to this Council and also in re-welcoming Dr. Raymond LEE who has been absent for a short period. (Applause).
MINUTES.
The Minutes of the meeting of the Council held on 7th June, 1960, were confirmed.
PAPER.
THE CHAIRMAN laid upon the table the following paper:-
Report on the work of the Urban Council and Urban Services Department for the month of June 1960.
QUESTIONS.
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
"Since there have been some heavy rains recently, will the Chairman state what measures are being taken to ensure that the mosquito nuisance at this time of the year on both Hong Kong Island and Kowloon will be reduced to the very minimum?”
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
"This question concerns the perennial problem of mosquitoes.
I should at the outset like to explain that the Urban Services Department is concerned primarily with Culicine mosquitoes, which breed for the most part in stagnant water and are not vectors of Malaria. Anopheles mosquitoes breed mainly in running water and are dealt with normally by the Anti-Malaria Bureau except, of course, when they are discovered, albeit rarely, by the staff of this department in the heart of the urban area.
There is no use pretending that the Urban Services Department can eliminate mosquitoes by expansion and better deployment of staff. It is the experience of the Pest Control staff that the great majority of breeding places are artificial, that is, produced through the negligence of man. Natural breeding places such as streams and pools contribute but little to the nuisance. Consequently the onus of providing a solution to the mosquito problem lies mainly on the shoulders of the individual citizen. I would therefore appeal to all residents to ensure:
firstly, that they do not throw away indiscriminately any containers which are capable of holding water;
secondly, that proper covers are fitted to their water tanks on the roof; and
thirdly, that no water is allowed to accumulate and remain stagnant on their premises.
If residents will but co-operate, the load of work on the Pest Control anti-mosquito gangs will be considerably eased and they will be able to cover more ground. Their numbers are as follows.
There are 9 Pest Control teams, each consisting of a foreman and a coolie, dealing with complaints in the built-up areas and a similar number carrying out a systematic survey. In addition, there are 3 teams for the outlying areas and 4 larger teams with 5 instead of only one Pest Control coolie for building sites, which are frequent sources of mosquito breeding. The Health Staff in the Hygiene Division also take action to deal with larvae when they come across them in the course of their normal inspection duties.
I do not claim that the nuisance of mosquitoes has been reduced to a minimum, but I am satisfied that it has been ameliorated and that a great deal has been achieved despite problems arising from the climate of the Colony and the unco-operative attitude of many of its residents.
It may be of interest to add that the commonly-held belief that the mosquito is a particular species of insect inhabiting the tropics is very far from the truth. In reality, there is no country (except, perhaps, Iceland) in which mosquitoes do not occur. The common house-gnat, Culex pipiens, found in the United Kingdom and in Europe is a close relative of the species found in Hong Kong and it is often just as much of a nuisance."
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Mr. Chairman, your reply is much longer than I anticipated, so I have no supplementaries. (Laughter).
MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-
"Many residents are under the impression that the Urban Council's responsibilities in Lai Chi Kok, with particular
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