HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
date which says a target date of March 1975, for completion of works which checks with what I said earlier this year. I hope we can keep to that target. Work has started on the actual construction of the railway itself and the rest will follow on.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN:- Just one supplementary, Mr. Chairman. In regard to the inclusion of this item in the Public Works Programme for 1972-73, is it with the intention that the site would most likely be on the railway terminal? In other words between the terminal and Holts Wharf, that is what I had in mind.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:- As far as I am concerned, Mr. Chairman, if an item gets into the Public Works Programme, at the present moment the thoughts are that the building will go as suggested by this Council on the site you have said near the Tsim Sha Tsui Concourse.
MR. SALES:- Mr. Chairman, I would like to have the remarks made by the Director of Public Works recorded minutely in the Hansard and that is a categorical assurance that Kowloon will have that Museum.
(14) MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
Since it is several weeks since the passage of Typhoon Rose, which has led to such heavy accumulation of rubbish on the streets, can the Chairman advise how much of such accumulated rubbish has already been cleared by the Urban Services Department?
DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:-
This question relates to the accumulation of rubbish after Typhoon Rose.
A typhoon as ferocious as Rose delays refuse collection considerably and the Cleansing Division of the Urban Services Department faced a 2-day back-log (2,800 tons in Kowloon and 1,400 tons on the Island) when they were able to resume collection on 18th August. This back-log was completely cleared and normal services resumed by 24th August, some 3 days before the receipt of Mr. CHEONG-LEEN's question. It is, therefore, assumed that Mr. CHEONG-LEEN is referring to typhoon debris, often thought of as refuse.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
The amount of typhoon debris created by Rose was probably greater than in any other typhoon. It was definitely more difficult to clear as many large trees and branches, which were not easy to handle, were blown down. Some 900 lorry loads of debris have so far been cleared in Kowloon and 700 on the Island. Some large tree trunks have yet to be cleared in certain areas and this will be done as soon as possible.
There is little sign of Typhoon Rose in Hong Kong to-day, and I personally think that the U.S.D., the Public Works, the Police, the Marine Department and the Fire Services are to be congratulated for a job well done. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Royal Corps of Transport who responded so readily to a request from the U.S.D. for the loan of Army vehicles. These vehicles assisted tremendously in clearing up operations.
MR. FORSGATE:- Mr. Chairman, could I ask a supplementary? What methods do your Departments use to clear away broken-down trees?
CHAIRMAN:- I think this falls to the Public Works Department to do with mechanical saws.
MR. FORSGATE:- Do they have a sufficient number of mechanical saws because it seems an inordinately long time to cut up and remove dangerous fallen tree trunks?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:- Mr. Chairman, with due respect, the Public Works Department help out but it is the Government's departments and the Agriculture and Fisheries who get going and saw the trees up. Actually we all get together with everything we have got. I must admit I agree with Mr. Forsgate, it seems to have taken much longer than previously but as said in the answer there were many more trees this time down and branches of every sort than ever before. More than I have ever seen.
MR. FORSGATE:- Well, memory is rather a difficult thing to rely on and I think ten years ago we would probably have said the same thing about "Wanda" or previous typhoons. No, the object of my supplementary was merely to ascertain whether we have a sufficient number of these mechanically operated mobile band hand saws to cut the stuff up.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: It is not my province really, but as I say we all go together. Definitely, in the case of a typhoon like Rose and we have massive work, we could do with more saws available for distribution but to say that you want 20 or 50 more saws
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date which says a target date of March 1975, for completion of works which checks with what I said earlier this year. I hope we can keep to that target. Work has started on the actual construction of the railway itself and the rest will follow on.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN:-Just one supplementary, Mr. Chair- man. In regard to the inclusion of this item in the Public Works Pro- gramme for 1972-73, is it with the intention that the site would most likely be on the railway terminal? In other words between the ter- minal and Holts Wharf, that is what I had in mind.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS:-As far as I am concerned, Mr. Chairman, if an item gets into the Public Works Programme, at the pre- sent moment the thoughts are that the building will go as suggested by this Council on the site you have said near the Tsim Sha Tsui Concourse.
MR. SALES-Mr. Chairman, I would like to have the remarks made by the Director of Public Works recorded minutely in the Han- sard and that is a categorical assurance that Kowloon will have that Museum.
(14) MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:
Since it is several weeks since the passage of Typhoon Rose, which has led to such heavy accumulation of rubbish on the streets, can the Chairman advise how much of such accumulated rubbish has already been cleared by the Urban Services Department?
DR. DENNY M. H. HUANG, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL HYGIENE SELECT CommitteE, replied as follows:-
This question relates to the accumulation of rubbish after
Typhoon Rose.
A typhoon as ferocious as Rose delays refuse collection con- siderably and the Cleansing Division of the Urban Services Department faced a 2-day back-log (2,800 tons in Kow- loon and 1,400 tons on the Island) when they were able to resume collection on 18th August. This back-log was completely cleared and normal services resumed by 24th August, some 3 days before the receipt of Mr. CHEONG- LEEN's question. It is, therefore, assumed that Mr. CHEONG-LEEN is referring to typhoon debris, often thought of as refuse.
1
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
241
The amount of typhoon debris created by Rose was probably greater than in any other typhoon. It was definitely more difficult to clear as many large trees and branches, which were not easy to handle, were blown down. Some 900 lorry loads of debris have so far been cleared in Kowloon and 700 on the Island. Some large tree trunks have yet to be cleared in certain areas and this will be done as soon as possible.
There is little sign of Typhoon Rose in Hong Kong to-day, and I personally think that the U.S.D., the Public Works, the Police, the Marine Department and the Fire Services are to be congratulated for a job well done. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Royal Corps of Transport who responded so readily to a request from the U.S.D. for the loan of Army vehicles. These vehicles assisted tremendously in clearing up operations.
MR. FORSGATE:-Mr. Chairman, could I ask a supplementary? What methods do your Departments use to clear away broken-down trees?
CHAIRMAN:-I think this falls to the Public Works Department to do with mechanical saws.
MR. FORSGATE:-Do they have a sufficient number of mechanical saws because it seems an inordinately long time to cut up and remove dangerous fallen tree trunks?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: -Mr. Chairman, with due respect, the Public Works Department help out but it is the Government's de- partments and the Agriculture and Fisheries who get going and saw the trees up. Actually we all get together with everything we have got. I must admit I agree with Mr. Forsgate, it seems to have taken much longer than previously but as said in the answer there were many more trees this time down and branches of every sort than ever before. More than I have ever seen.
MR. FORSGATE:-Well, memory is rather a difficult thing to rely on and I think ten years ago we would probably have said the same thing about "Wanda" or previous typhoons. No, the object of my supplementary was merely to ascertain whether we have a sufficient number of these mechanically operated mobile band hand saws to cut the stuff up.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: It is not my province really, but as I say we all go together. Definitely, in the case of a typhoon like Rose and we have massive work, we could do with more saws avail- able for distribution but to say that you want 20 or 50 more saws
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