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# HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
(8) MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
A number of resettlement residents have suggested that the name of resettlement estates should be changed to "Urban Council Low-Cost Housing Estates"? Has the Commissioner for Resettlement given any previous consideration to this matter, and could he inquire from Government whether it would be prepared to accept a change of name in principle so that the matter can be more fully discussed in the Urban Council's Resettlement Select Committees?
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:
I have not previously heard the suggestion that resettlement estates should be called "Urban Council Low-Cost Housing Estates", and have therefore had no occasion to consider the suggestion.
Government is always ready to consider any proposal. I suggest, however, that the name proposed is inappropriate since some of the estates are in the New Territories and therefore outside the purview of the Urban Council, while the word "Low-Cost Housing Estates" might lead to confusion with Government Low-Cost Housing Estates which are built by the Public Works Department and managed by the Housing Authority.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Mr. Chairman, since the Housing Authority, of which all Members of this Council are members, does have estates in the New Territories, why is Government so afraid that this Council should be responsible for the management of resettlement estates in Tsuen Wan and other parts of the New Territories?
MR. BERNACCHI: In fact, can the Commissioner for Resettlement give this Council any information as to when this Council will be responsible for the management of resettlement estates in Tsuen Wan?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:- No, Sir, I regret that I cannot.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:- Mr. Chairman, as the resettlement estates are built by the Public Works Department, I wonder if they might be called Public Works Department estates? (Laughter).
(9) MR. K. S. Lo asked the following question:
With the coming of the warmer weather, what additional measures does the Department propose to take to prevent the breeding of mosquitoes, apart from the routine inspections and spraying of D.D.T. undertaken by our Inspectors?
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THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES replied as follows:-
The additional measures that the department proposes to take to deal with mosquito breeding in the urban areas during the warmer months include the following:-
(i) Press releases to tell the public of the various places in and around domestic premises where breeding is likely to occur and the measures that should be taken to deal with them.
(ii) The distribution of leaflets to building contractors and, particularly, to households where mosquito breeding has been discovered following investigation of a complaint.
(iii) Closer supervision of building sites, followed by prosecution wherever mosquito offences are detected, and a general intensification of anti-mosquito work.
I should add that D.D.T. is not now used for routine spraying on account of the insecticide resistance which follows its regular use. Only larvicidal oil is used which does not give rise to resistance. It should be emphasized that virtually all mosquito breeding in the urban areas of Hong Kong is man-made and due to carelessness or indifference. The Urban Services Department is always ready to deal with complaints on receipt of a telephone message to its complaints section, but, before complaints are made, members of the public are advised to first check their own premises for mosquito breeding the presence of which is a legal offence.
MR. SALES:- Mr. Chairman, may I congratulate the Department on its faith as to the efficacy of press releases to persuade mosquitoes to commit mass suicide. (Laughter). I trust that these press releases are not intended to substitute for more and better action on the part of the Department.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES:- There were over a thousand prosecutions last year.
MR. SALES:- Prosecutions of mosquitoes or human beings? (Laughter).
MR. BERNACCHI:- Mr. Chairman, I take the Deputy Director of Medical and Health Services up on the last part of his answer. He says that members of the public are advised to check first their own premises for mosquito breeding which is a legal offence. Does he
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