XN000022-1982-01-01 — Page 2

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 1982

PIG FARMERS WARNED AGAINST POLLUTING RIVER

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STARTING TOMORROW (SATURDAY), LAW ENFORCEMENT ACTION WILL BE STEPPED UP AGAINST PIG FARMERS" OPERATING AT THE BANK OF KAM TIN RIVER IN YUEN LONG, FOLLOWING THE COMPLETION OF A $4-MILLION 'SCRUB-UP OPERATION.

AT THE SAME TIME, FARM WASTE COLLECTION POINTS SPECIALLY ERECTED AT PAT HEUNG ÁREA WILL BE OPENED TO THE FARMERS TO FACILITATE THE PROPER DISPOSAL OF THE WASTE, AND THERE WILL BE A FREE COLLECTION SERVICE.

WARNING IS TO BE ISSUED TO MORE THAN 150 PIG FARMERS WHO HAVE ALREADY RECEIVED GOVERNMENT GRANTS AND LOANS TOTALLING $500 000 TO MEET THE COST OF BUILDING WASTE-TREATMENT FACILITIES IN THEIR FARMS.

A SPOKESMAN FOR THE NEW TERRITORIES SERVICES DEPARTMENT POINTED OUT THAT A LARGE QUANTITY OF POLLUTANTS HAD EARLIER BEEN CLEARED FROM THE RIVER AND ITS CATCHMENT AREA.

DREDGING OPERATIONS BY THE HIGHWAYS (NEW TERRITORIES) DIVISION BROUGHT OUT 6 500 CUBIC METRES OF SOLID WASTE FROM FIVE HEAVILY-POLLUTED SITES ALONG KAM TIN RIVER, INCLUDING PAT HEUNG OFF FAN KAM ROAD AND HUNG MO BRIDGE.

MOST OF THE IRRIGATION WEIRS AT PAT HEUNG AND KAM TIN AREAS WERE ALSO TIDIED UP BY THE AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES DEPARTMENT.

SOME 200 TONNES OF ACCUMULATED FARM WASTE AND DOMESTIC REFUSE WERE CLEARED AWAY BY THE NTSD FROM VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE RIVER.

EXTENSIVE CLEARANCE WORK IS STILL BEING CARRIED OUT BY CLEANSING STAFF OF THE NTSD IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CURRENT CLEAN HONG KONG CAMPAIGN, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

HOWEVER, THE SUCCESS OF THE CLEAN UP IN THE AREA WOULD DEPEND ON THE PIG FARMERS MAKING FULL USE OF THE FARM WASTE COLLECTION SERVICE BEING PROVIDED, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.

IN WET SEASON, THE WASTE IS GENERALLY FLUSHED AWAY AFTER HEAVY RAIN AND DEPOSITED IN THE ESTUARY, AND IN THE DRY SEASON IT BECOMES STAGNANT AND A SCUM FORMS ON THE SURFACE, ULTIMATELY DISCHARGING AN OFFENSIVE SMELL, AND CREATING SANITATION AND HEALTH HAZARDS.

HOWEVER, DESPITE THE REPEATED CLEAN UP EFFORTS CARRIED OUT TO IMPROVE THE SITUATION FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, THE STREAM HAS BEEN CONTINUOUSLY POLLUTED BY FARMERS DISCHARGING THEIR WASTE INTO IT.

/HENCEFORTH, PIG