Tombstone protest over demolition
A GRAVE was built at the door of the Housing Department yesterday by residents of a Ho Man Tin estate angry over plans to demolish their homes.
The department has decided it will first demolish facilities at the Valley Road Estate such as shops, laundries, community and elderly centres, clinics, restaurants, and playgrounds.
Residents' representatives said that would cause inconvenience and danger to the remaining 1,800 households, who could not move out until the year 2000.
The residents said the Housing Department had not considered their needs.
'We'll have to go to Oi Man Estate or even Hunghom to buy our necessities after those shops close. It'll take 30 minutes longer,' said Ng Shui-chun, 65, who lives in Block 12 of Valley Road Estate.
Residents put a cardboard tombstone for the planning unit of the authority at the entrance of its headquarters in Ho Man Tin to coincide with Chung Yeung Festival.
They said there were around 900 elderly people, aged from 70 to 90, out of the 2,700 households in the estate.
'It would be too hard for them to go such a long way to get what they need every day,' said a representative.
The Housing Department was unavailable for comment.
