Please restore our red light district

Much has been written in recent years about the perceived dangers of antennae on the island, with some camps believing that there is a danger to health from those who live nearby these installations.
When we purchased our lovely Cypriot cottage almost 25 years ago, we gave no thought to the nearby antenna and have until only just recently had any concerns over this.

The antenna, with its red warning light on top, has fielded many jokes from friends who often mentioned to others, with tongue in cheek, that we lived in a red light district. First-time visitors are often told by us to look for the red light when driving in the dark and by following the red light would find their way through the village to our house.

Now we are extremely concerned, for the red light has been out for some months. We assume that this light acts as a warning to low flying aircraft.

The matter has been consistently reported to local authorities, cyta and others and I recently asked the street lights maintenance man from the electricity board if he would be kind enough to contact the appropriate authority. Despite all this effort, the light remains out when I am sure it should shine out as a warning beacon.

Hopefully someone from the appropriate authority will see this letter and perhaps initiate some action. ‘Avrio’ is an endearing part of the Cypriot culture – not however, when our lives and the lives of our Cypriot neighbours could be at risk.

Geoff Unsworth
Fyti, Paphos

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.