About 3,800 elderly residents in Ngau Tau Kok public estates could face job losses, higher rents and separation from friends and family if forced to move out under a government resettlement plan, their representatives said yesterday. More than 300 elderly people rallied at a meeting in the district, organised by the Society for Community Organisation to voice concerns about the Government's plan to redevelop their estates. They said about 3,800 people over 60 would be re-housed in the next two years, but they do not know which public estates they would be assigned to under the resettlement plan and are afraid they may be sent to some distant estates. 'There are not many empty units left in Ngau Tau Kok, that means we have to move out of the district,' said 70-year-old Chan Pan-ka. The elderly residents demanded to be resettled in the same district and pay a lower rent. More than 40 per cent of the affected residents are elderly. Many earn a living by working as street sweepers or cleaners. They fear they might lose their jobs if forced to move. Building cleaner Chan Yan-lung, 60, said: 'It would be very difficult to find another job in the present economic situation. It is very difficult for elderly people to resettle in a new district. We will lose contact with our friends.' They also worried the rent in new districts would be much higher. 'We pay between $375 and $710 a month here, but we would have to pay about $2,000 on average in other districts. How can we afford that?' Mr Chan asked.