‘I’m chopping wood because I can’t afford fuel’

KYPEROUNTA residents in Troodos were yesterday furious with a government decision to increase heating fuel prices, saying that the decision was practically an eviction notice.

The angry villagers said yesterday that they had no other option but to turn to more conventional methods of heating such as wood-burning furnaces and fireplaces because heating fuel had simply become too expensive.

They warned that they would block off the road leading to the village this Sunday in protest.
“It looks like the government has taken another decision without taking us and other communities living in higher altitudes into consideration” one resident said.

“It’s like they signed our eviction notice.”

A family in mountainous areas needs about £500 a month in heating fuel to deal with the near freezing temperatures and locals described a government suggestion of a heating fuel subsidy of £200 as a mockery.

“How is a family expected to get through the winter with a £200 a year subsidy when we need more than £500 a month for our heating fuel?” another resident said.

“I am chopping wood because I can’t afford to pay for fuel, what can I do?”

The CyBC last night reported that locals claimed that 80 per cent of elderly deaths happen during the winter period and are caused partly from the lack of adequate heating.