Both the Riga City Council and utility companies denied that they had done any work there. Although excavations have been going on in this place for around a year, only now it is revealed that the explanation is: cable thieves.
"When I entered Rīga from the Babīte side along Jūrmala avenue, I noticed mysterious holes on the slope of the forest dune directly opposite the sign of the city of Riga. These holes have been there for about a year, and no one seems to know why! At first, it seemed to be related to the repair of a water pipe. Maybe some archeology?" said viewer Roberts.
The Traffic Department of the Riga City Council confirmed that a long time ago, traffic organization changes were made in this area due to water pipe replacement works. However, "Rīgas udens" (Riga water) said that no work has been done recently in this area. "Rīgas meži" (Riga forests) also did not know anything about the strange excavations.
Insulating tape, scraps of cable wires and metal left at the edges of the trenches offer a few clues.
The City Development Department of Riga City Council, which contacted all possible responsible institutions, helped to arrive at an answer. "Currently, it looks like there are no coordinated construction works, but most likely they are the 'misdeeds' of cable thieves," said Kaspars Līcītis, the project coordinator of the External Communication Department of the Riga City Council.
"Since there was no information about the replacement or digging of cables from [telecoms companies] either, it must be concluded that metal detectors have been working with shovels. Now we just have to find out what will happen next with this territory."
Unfortunately, even though there is a CCTV sign nearby, the culprit is unlikely to be found.
"In this case, the event probably happened a year ago, and I don't think that the law enforcement agencies would find these cable thieves. Of course, it is important to report such situations immediately, so that the law enforcement organizations can react accordingly," admitted the representative of the council.
The Riga City Council promised that the damaged area would be cleaned up soon.
