ENG-1999 — Page 234

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HEALTH

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Markets

The provisional municipal councils managed public markets in their respective areas.

The RSD administered 46 markets in the area served by the Provisional Regional Council, providing a total of 5 433 market stalls and 414 cooked food stalls. The new Tsing Yi Market, on the ground floor of the Regional Council Tsing Yi Complex, was opened on September 1. It has 76 stalls, covers 2 035 square metres and is air- conditioned.

The Provisional Urban Council operated 62 retail markets in the urban areas in 1999. In these markets, 10 260 stalls offered commodities ranging from fresh food to household items.

Old and temporary markets have gradually been replaced in many cases by multi- purpose complexes. These complexes house new markets and cooked food centres on the lower floors with leisure and recreational activities on upper floors. Markets and cooked food centres will, as far as practicable, be air-conditioned to improve the trading environment.

In 1999, the new Sai Ying Pun Market, Yee On Street Market and Stanley Temporary Market were opened for public use. A scheme for contracting out cleaning operations was implemented in 49 markets: 24 on Hong Kong Island and 25 in Kowloon.

Hawkers

The provisional municipal councils maintained control over hawking activities, particularly on-street hawkers. The number of licensed hawkers in the urban areas was reduced from 8 610 in 1998 to 8 355.

The hawker control teams in the urban areas, comprising 2 213 civilian staff trained in law enforcement, secured 30 079 court convictions for hawking offences by both licensed and unlicensed hawkers. Stringent enforcement action has reduced the number of unlicensed hawkers to about 3 454.

In the Provisional Regional Council area, action by the RSD hawker control teams reduced the number of illegal hawkers to 666 by the end of the year. About 1 265 non-urban hawkers held valid licences during the year to operate either fixed pitches or on an itinerant basis. The RSD's hawker control teams secured 20 231 court convictions for hawking offences by both licensed and unlicensed hawkers in 1999. The Provisional Regional Council ceased issuing hawker licences except for purpose- built cooked food stalls in public housing estates and industrial estates of the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation.

Abattoirs

A new modernised slaughterhouse facility in Sheung Shui commenced operation in August to replace by phases the three abattoirs/slaughterhouses in Kennedy Town, Cheung Sha Wan and Yuen Long.

During the year, these abattoirs/slaughterhouses, together with the slaughterhouses in Tsuen Wan and Cheung Chau, handled 4 225 852 pigs, 111 316 cattle and 5 334 goats, which accounted for virtually all the local fresh meat supply. Qualified health inspectors of the USD and the RSD inspected all food animals slaughtered in these