HONG KONG 2-12 PARCHED COLONY BUDDHIST MONKS AND NUNS IN HONG KONG 
LAST WEEK CHANTED PRAYERS TO THE PULSATING TICK-TOCK OF STICKS BEATING 
ON FISH-SHAPED WOODEN BLOCKS . THRONGS OF CHINESE PARADED THROUGH DOWNTOWN 
STREETS CARRYING HUGE PAPER DRAGONS REPRESENTING THE RAIN GOD, AND THE 
BLARE OF DRUMS, GONGS AND CYMBALS EXHORTED THE HEAVENS TO SEND 
RAIN . WHEN A BRIEF SHOWER DAMPENED HONG KONG ONE AFTERNOON, 
MARKING THE FIRST RAINFALL IN SIX MONTHS, MEN AND WOMEN CLAPPED 
THEIR HANDS AND SHOUTED FOR JOY . HONG KONG IS SUFFERING 
CRITICALLY FROM THE LONGEST DROUGHT IN YEARS . THE VITAL TEXTILE 
DYEING INDUSTRY LOST AN ESTIMATED $1,700,000 IN THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS 
OF THIS YEAR . THE ONLY BREWERY FACES CURTAILED PRODUCTION, AND 
DELIVERIES OF SOFT DRINKS HAVE FALLEN 60 PER CENT . THE 
RESERVOIRS ARE SO NEARLY DRY THAT HONG KONG AUTHORITIES LAST WEEK 
IMPOSED A STRICT NEW RATION ON THE CITY : FOUR HOURS 
OF RUNNING WATER EVERY OTHER DAY . IN PRIVATE HOMES WATER 
IS USED FIRST FOR BATHING, THEN FOR WASHING CLOTHES, FINALLY FOR 
GARDENS . ORDINARILY, HONG KONG BUYS 5 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER 
ANNUALLY FROM RED CHINA'S SHUMCHUN RESERVOIR, JUST ACROSS THE BORDER . 
LAST MONTH THE COLONY CONTRACTED TO BUY AN ADDITIONAL 700 MILLION 
GALLONS FROM THE CHINESE AT A COST OF $29,890 . AT 
THE REDUCED RATE OF DAILY CONSUMPTION OF 36 MILLION GALLONS (COMPARED 
WITH THE NORMAL 60 MILLION GALLONS PER DAY), HONG KONG'S RESERVES 
WILL BE EXHAUSTED IN 66 DAYS . HARDEST HIT BY THE 
DROUGHT ARE THE FARMERS OF THE NEW TERRITORIES, WHO DESPERATELY NEED 
SPRING RAINS TO SAVE THEIR RICE AND VEGETABLE CROPS . THOSE 
FARMERS WHO OWN WELLS PADLOCK THEM AT NIGHT TO FOIL WATER 
THIEVES . AT WEEK'S END, THE SHORTAGE HAD GROWN SO SERIOUS 
THAT SHIPS OF THE U.S . SEVENTH FLEET WERE ORDERED TO 
CEASE TAKING ON POTABLE WATER IN HONG KONG " TO AVOID 
FURTHER DRAIN ON THE LOCAL WATER SUPPLY . / 