SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1985
LAST YEAR, MR IU SAID, OVER 600 HILL FIRES WERE RECORDED, DAMAGING NEARLY 80 000 TREES AND CAUSING EXTENSIVE DESTRUCTION TO OTHER VEGETATION, LANDSCAPE AND NATURAL HABITAT FOR BIRDS AND ANIMALS,
MR IU POINTED OUT THAT ALL HILL FIRES IN HONG KONG WERE CAUSED BY CARELESSNESS.
+FOR THIS REASON, ALL VISITORS TO THE COUNTRYSIDE SHOULD TAKE EXTRA CARE AND ABIDE BY THE COUNTRY PARKS REGULATIONS CONTROLLING THE LIGHTING OF FIRES IN THE COUNTRYSIDE, HE ADDED.
MR IU ADVISED THE PUBLIC TO OBSERVE THE FOLLOWING FIRE SAFETY RULES:
* USE ONLY PERMITTED AREAS FOR BARBECUING ;
* BURN JOSS STICKS AND PAPERS IN METAL CONTAINERS; AND
*
IN THE EVENT OF A FIRE OUTBREAK, REPORT IMMEDIATELY TO THE NEAREST COUNTRY PARK MANAGEMENT CENTRE OR DIAL 999.
+I APPEAL TO YOU MOST EARNESTLY TO HEED OUR ADVICE, EXERCISE YOUR COMMON SENSE AND PROTECT THE COUNTRYSIDE THROUGHOUT THE DRY SEASON AND PARTICULARLY DURING THE COMING CHUNG YEUNG FESTIVAL PERIOD, HE SAID,
IN RECENT YEARS, MR IU SAID, THE AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT, IN CO-OPERATION WITH THE FIRE SERVICES DEPARTMENT, HAD DEVELOPED AN EFFECTIVE SYSTEM OF FIRE PREVENTION, FIRE DETECTION AND FIREFIGHTING WITH GOOD SUPPORT FROM THE ROYAL HONG KONG AUXILIARY AIR FORCE AND THE ROYAL AIR FORCE IN WATER BOMBING AND AIR LIFTING OPERATIONS.
+THIS VERY EFFICIENT FIRE-FIGHTING METHOD HAS HELPED REDUCE THE LOSS AND DAMAGE CAUSED BY FIRE CONSIDERABLY, HE ADDED.
TODAY'S CEREMONY WAS PRECEDED BY A HALF-DAY SEMINAR ON COUNTRYSIDE FIRE PREVENTION FOR 30 HIKER GROUP LEADERS WHO LATER JOINED THE FIRE CREW OF THE DEPARTMENT IN STAGING A FIRE FIGHTING DEMONSTRATION.
NEW ROAD NETWORK FOR FANLING
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TENDERS ARE BEING INVITED BY THE NEW TERRITORIES DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A ROAD NETWORK IN A NEW DEVELOPMENT AREA IN FANL ING.
THE AREA, TO THE SOUTH OF SHEK WU HUI AND BETWEEN THE KOWLOON-CANTON RAILWAY'S SHEUNG SHUI STATION AND THE JOCKEY CLUB ROAD, WILL BE PROVIDED WITH ABOUT FOUR KILOMETRES OF DISTRIBUTOR ROADS, INTERNAL ROADS AND ASSOCIATED DRAINAGE SYSTEM.
THE PROJECT