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The Housing Department has stepped up preventive measures against mosquitoes in its public rental housing (PRH) estates since early summer.
"To safeguard tenants from the threat of mosquito-borne diseases, we have instructed our cleaning contractors to pay more attention to hygiene black spots and eliminate all possible mosquito breeding grounds as far as possible," a department spokesman said.
"Each PRH estate has set up an Anti-mosquito Special Cleaning Squad. The four-member teams inspect gullies, surfaces of roof gutters, floor drains, hill slopes and flower beds within estate areas on a daily basis. Any stagnant water or rubbish found will be cleared immediately," he said.
"Larvicidal oil is applied to manholes, surface channels, roof gutters, gullies and traps every one or two weeks; overgrown plants and grass are trimmed every month or two; blocked drains and uneven road surfaces that may pocket stagnant water are repaired without delay.
"After consulting individual Estate Management Advisory Committees, we have purchased about 160 mosquito catching apparatuses. They are placed in PRH estates located in districts with relatively high Area Ovitrap Index," the spokesman said.
The spokesman called for PRH tenants' co-operation to keep their flats clean. He also reminded them that five penalty points would be allotted for the household committing the misdeed "causing mosquito breeding by accumulating stagnant water" under the Marking Scheme.
Meanwhile, measures to eliminate mosquito breeding grounds in public housing construction sites have also been tightened.
"We have urged the contractors to keep the sites clear of stagnant water. These include spots such as bamboo scaffolding, uncovered water tanks, used buckets and containers, lift pits, wasted building materials and uneven road surfaces," the spokesman said.
PRH tenants and the public are encouraged to report mosquito breeding black spots by calling the Housing Authority Enquiry Hotline 2712 2712.
Ends/Thursday, July 26, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:20
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