ENG-1976 — Page 128

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HEALTH

in the licence and pitch fees payable for hawker licences and pitches in the urban areas came into effect during the year.

Abattoirs

The two abattoirs at Kennedy Town on Hong Kong Island and at Cheung Sha Wan in Kowloon-provide the bulk of the population with fresh meat. During the year 2,867,366 pigs, 157,734 cattle and 5,347 goats were slaughtered at both abattoirs. The daily average at Cheung Sha Wan alone was 15,524 pigs, 248 cattle and 23 goats.

The mechanisation of the existing pig dressing lines and the installation of a third pig dressing line at each abattoir have now been completed. The by-products plant at Kennedy Town is being modernised. Improvement to the cattle lines at both abattoirs is also planned.

There are two licensed private slaughterhouses in the New Territories, at Yuen Long and Tai Po. Animals slaughtered there are inspected by health inspectors of the Urban Services Department.

Services in the New Territories

The New Territories Region of the Urban Services Department looks after en- vironmental hygiene, cleansing, hawkers and markets, slaughterhouses, recreation and amenities, pest control, and cemeteries and crematoria in the New Territories. The region is part of the normal government machinery, and-unlike the other two regions covering Hong Kong Island and Kowloon-it is not within the purview of the Urban Council. It works closely with other government departments operating in the New Territories, especially with the New Territories Administration and the Public Works Department. The region's officers have planning responsibility for en- suring a balanced provision of Urban Services Department facilities and services, especially in the three new towns of Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun and Sha Tin and in the 12 development areas.

Hawkers create a major problem, particularly in the larger townships, and this can only be solved by eventually providing adequate off-street markets and hawker bazaars. Meantime, frequent tidying-up operations are conducted at all chronic hawker black-spots. The most significant improvement in 1976 was the clearance of illegal hawkers from streets adjoining the Yeung Uk Road market in Tsuen Wan. For a number of years these streets had been stifled by illegal hawkers, making even minimum cleansing and the passage of traffic impossible. A temporary market was built on the other side of Yeung Uk Road to accommodate eligible hawkers.

A three-mile stretch of the River Sutlej at Fanling was cleared during the year after having been long polluted by wastes and effluents discharged from pigsties and tanneries on the two banks. The operation was completed in two months with a special task force of 30 men. With the removal of the tanneries to an offensive trade area in Tsuen Wan, hopes are high that fish breeding will again be possible in this section of the river.