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to eradicate flies on the beaches? I should mention as a preamble that I was at Middle Beach two weeks ago and I spotted and killed 18 flies in half an hour. Is there a method, for example, the use of D.D.T. on the beaches, so that we can get at the flies while they are young?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- May I ask Mr. Wilfred WONG, through you, Mr. Chairman, whether he has spotted any mosquitoes?
MR. WONG: Mr. Chairman, as far as I know, flies only.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES:- I have not dealt with this particular aspect, Mr. WONG, but I will certainly do so.
It is possible that flies are attracted to beaches by food. It is a question which we can go into.
MRS. ELLIOTT:- Mr. Chairman, may I ask the Commissioner if he has noticed the millions of flies in the resettlement areas on the ground floors?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:- I certainly have noticed flies in resettlement estates. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Mr. Chairman, some of my constituents behind Kent Road in Kowloon have just sent me a complaint to-day saying that there are a lot of mosquitoes behind and all along Kent Road. So will you also be good enough to look into that?
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, I suggest that Mr. CHEONG-LEEN prove that he has got a constituency in Kowloon. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:- Mr. Chairman, could a request be passed on to the Secretary of the Council to ask the public to advise Mr. SALES?
MR. K. S. Lo asked the following question:-
Because of inadequate or lack of proper management the sanitation of many of the Multi-Storey Buildings is far from being satisfactory. Many of the roofs and yards of these buildings are breeding grounds for mosquitoes and flies. The refuse left in the passage ways, staircases and yards have become a menace to public health.
(a) Will the Chairman inform this Council whether this unsatisfactory state of affairs is due to the gross negligence of our Inspectors to take effective action against the offenders?
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29
(b) Or is it due to the multi-ownership of the floors which gives rise to the difficulty of pinning down the offence on the individuals concerned?
(c) If it is due to (b), what measures do you propose to take to improve the situation?
THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES replied as follows:
In answering this question it is necessary to distinguish between the cause of a nuisance and the methods of abating it. I can say without hesitation that the insanitary conditions in multi-storey buildings are primarily caused by the negligence and lack of civic sense of the occupants rather than by any lack of diligence on the part of the inspectorate.
Nuisances only arise because the residents of multi-storey buildings throw refuse from their windows or deposit it in passage ways instead of placing it in properly covered dust bins to await collection. It is almost impossible to catch an offender red-handed in order to warn him or, if necessary, to prosecute him.
It is true that when nuisances arising from collections of refuse are found to exist in multi-storey buildings, there is difficulty in arranging for them to be abated. Multi-storey buildings are visited monthly by District Health Inspectors and if complaints are received they may be classified as trouble spots and visited more often. When a caretaker is employed it is usually fairly easy to see that nuisances are abated by direct action under the supervision of the District Health Inspector.
But when no caretaker or representative of the owner is available, as is usually the case, it is difficult or impossible to find any responsible person who will undertake to clear up the refuse which causes the trouble or to take whatever other steps are necessary to abate the nuisance. In the end, if nothing can be done, it may be necessary to use departmental staff to do the work.
In regard to the measures to be taken to improve the situation, I would refer you to the reply given by the Chairman to a question at the February meeting of the Council in which he stated that the report of the Working Party on this subject was still under consideration by Government. You will also recall that the Colonial Secretary, in winding up the budget debate last month referred to the difficulty
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to eradicate flies on the beaches? I should mention as a preamble that I was at Middle Beach two weeks ago and I spotted and killed 18 flies in half an hour. Is there a method, for example, the use of D.D.T. on the beaches, so that we can get at the flies while they are young?
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-May I ask Mr. Wilfred WONG, through you, Mr. Chairman, whether he has spotted any mosquitoes?
MR. WONG: Mr. Chairman, as far as I know, flies only.
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES:-I have not dealt with this particular aspect, Mr. WONG, but I will certainly do so.
It is possible that flies are attracted to beaches by food. It is a question which we can go into.
MRS. ELLIOTT:-Mr. Chairman, may I ask the Commissioner if he has noticed the millions of flies in the resettlement areas on the ground floors?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-I certainly have noticed flies in resettlement estates. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, some of my constituents behind Kent Road in Kowloon have just sent me a complaint to-day saying that there are a lot of mosquitoes behind and all along Kent Road. So will you also be good enough to look into that?
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, I suggest that Mr. CHEONG-LEEN prove that he has got a constituency in Kowloon. (Laughter).
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, could a request be passed on to the Secretary of the Council to ask the public to advise Mr. SALES?
MR. K. S. Lo asked the following question:-
Because of inadequate or lack of proper management the sanitation of many of the Multi-Storey Buildings is far from being satisfactory. Many of the roofs and yards of these buildings are breeding grounds for mosquitoes and flies. The refuse left in the passage ways, staircases and yards have become a menace to public health.
(a) Will the Chairman inform this Council whether this unsatisfactory state of affairs is due to the gross negli- gence of our Inspectors to take effective action against the offenders?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
29
(b) Or is it due to the multi-ownership of the floors which gives rise to the difficulty of pinning down the offence on the individuals concerned?
(c) If it is due to (b), what measures do you propose to
take to improve the situation?
THE DEPUTY Director of MEDICAL AND HEALTH SERVICES replied as follows:
In answering this question it is necessary to distinguish between the cause of a nuisance and the methods of abating it. I can say without hesitation that the insanitary conditions in multi-storey buildings are primarily caused by the negligence and lack of civic sense of the occupants rather than by any lack of diligence on the part of the inspec-
torate.
Nuisances only arise because the residents of multi-storey buildings throw refuse from their windows or deposit it in passage ways instead of placing it in properly covered dust bins to await collection. It is almost impossible to catch an offender red-handed in order to warn him or, if necessary, to prosecute him.
It is true that when nuisances arising from collections of refuse are found to exist in multi-storey buildings, there is dif- ficulty in arranging for them to be abated. Multi-storey buildings are visited monthly by District Health Inspectors and if complaints are received they may be classified as trouble spots and visited more often. When a caretaker is employed it is usually fairly easy to see that nuisances are abated by direct action under the supervision of the District Health Inspector.
But when no caretaker or representative of the owner is avail- able, as is usually the case, it is difficult or impossible to find any responsible person who will undertake to clear up the refuse which causes the trouble or to take what- ever other steps are necessary to abate the nuisance. In the end, if nothing can be done, it may be necessary to use departmental staff to do the work.
In regard to the measures to be taken to improve the situation, I would refer you to the reply given by the Chairman to a question at the February meeting of the Council in which he stated that the report of the Working Party on this subject was still under consideration by Government. You will also recall that the Colonial Secretary, in winding up the budget debate last month referred to the difficulty
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