Elksniņš: State wants to shirk responsibility for closing Daugavgrīva prison
Daugavpils mayor Andrejs Elksniņš criticizes the Ministry of Justice's proposal to transfer the property of the closing Daugavgrīva prison's Grīva branch to the municipality, calling for state support in managing the degraded area.
Andrejs Elksniņš, chairman of the Daugavpils City Council and member of the “Sarauj, Latgale!” party, expressed dissatisfaction on Tuesday with the state's approach to the territory of the Grīva branch of the Daugavgrīva prison, which is set to close. According to him, the Ministry of Justice has offered to transfer the property to the municipality, which he described as an attempt to offload a degraded area.
During a government off-site meeting in Latgale, the municipality requested an assessment of whether the property is needed for state functions. The National Cultural Heritage Board stated that the territory could be used for tourism, but only after demolishing Soviet-era buildings and fences, leaving only historically significant sites.
This week, municipal specialists are inspecting the territory and will provide their assessment. Elksniņš emphasized that Daugavpils already has several renovation projects in the Daugavpils Fortress area, but lacks sufficient funds, so the municipality is not ready to “take a ruin without money”. He called for joint efforts between the state and municipality, along with clear funding.
It was previously reported that in February, the new Liepāja prison opened and the old one closed. In summer, after transferring inmates to Liepāja, the Jelgava prison was also closed. The Grīva branch of Daugavgrīva prison is scheduled to close in mid-December.
