§ 87. Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what progress has been made in repairing the damage caused by last year's hurricane in Mauritius.
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§ Mr. Iain MacleodBy the end of February, 1961, the progress of reconstruction was as follows:
Roads and bridges:All damage repaired except for certain roads on the south coast where 1,800 feet of retaining walls remain to be rebuilt. 11,500 feet of walls have been rebuilt to date.
Water supplies:All major repairs to reservoirs completed. All water pipelines repaired.
Government buildings:332 repaired out of total of 517 damaged. Seventy per cent, of Government schools repaired. Thirty-five per cent. of non-Government schools repaired; fifty per cent. nearing completion.
Local authority buildings:Ninety per cent. repaired.
Sugar factories:Repairs sufficient to deal with 1960 reduced crop.
Forestry:2,200 acres of eucalyptus coppicing completed. Rehabilitation of pine forest beginning. Forestry roads and bridges completed. More than 1,000,000 timber poles supplied for refugee shelters and reconstruction of huts.
Electricity:Temporary repairs to networks in urban areas completed. Permanent networks on an improved pattern to be completed by end of 1962.
Telephones:Restoration work completed.
Housing:Central Housing Authority set up in September. Tenders called for 3,000 units of prefabricated houses and allocation of contracts expected shortly. Target 20,000 units. Sugar Industry Labour Welfare Fund propose to build 2,000 units of which 375 have been built or are being built. A large proportion of private houses have been repaired privately.