Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said the mosque near Kolkata airport’s runway will be relocated. He accused past governments of inaction due to ‘appeasement politics’ and said the move is vital for airport expansion and security.
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar said that the mosque located near the runway at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport will be relocated, alleging that previous governments avoided taking action due to “appeasement politics”.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Majumdar said the relocation would help address long-standing concerns related to airport expansion and security. “Ever since I was a student, I used to read in the newspaper that due to a mosque at Kolkata airport, the runway cannot be constructed and no previous government interfered due to appeasement politics..Now that our government is in power, we don’t believe in appeasement politics. Mosque will be relocated…,” he said.
Justification and Safety Concerns
Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar on Sunday said the mosque located near the runway at Kolkata airport will be relocated, accusing previous governments of inaction due to “appeasement politics”. Majumdar said there was no justification for the mosque’s location within the airport’s operational area and claimed that prayers at the site have already been stopped. “There was no justification for the mosque being located where it was. It had been deliberately allowed to remain within the runway area. Prayers have now been stopped there as well. I believe they will vacate the site so that the runway extension work can proceed smoothly,” he told reporters.
BJP leader Keya Ghosh on Sunday said the government has decided to shift the Bankra mosque near Kolkata airport, citing passenger safety concerns. “Those who take a flight from Kolkata, can see that an ordinary person can also perform namaz very much near the airport, which means passenger safety is nil. In view of this, our government has decided to shift the mosque, and even the Imams here agree to this,” she told ANI.
The remarks came after the BJP-led West Bengal government on Saturday decided to remove the century-old Bankra Mosque located inside the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata outside the premises of the airport due to security concerns.
Runway Expansion and Security Issues
Earlier in December, Majumdar flagged security concerns over a mosque located in the operational area of Kolkata Airport, saying its presence has stalled runway expansion and should be relocated in consultation with the Airport Authority of India. Speaking to ANI, Majumdar said, “This is a long-standing demand. Because of this, the runway length is not being increased. Having a masjid at a place as sensitive as the airport, that too near the runway, is worrying. Masjid can be moved to another place, as is done in the UAE. A masjid is a place where you offer namaz, unlike a temple, where an idol is consecrated. If the masjid committee thinks about the country, they should have a discussion with the Airport Authority of India. A new masjid can be built elsewhere.”
The mosque, believed to be more than 130 years old and older than the airport itself, is located around 165 metres from the airport’s secondary runway. Aviation authorities have maintained that its presence restricts runway expansion, affects flight operations and delays the installation of advanced Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) required for aircraft operations during periods of dense winter fog. (ANI)
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