While the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 8, locals were left wondering why the name Loknete DB Patil was missing from the plaque. The all-party action committee, which had earlier led major protests demanding that the airport be named after the late politician and social activist, has decided not to hold any agitation — at least till December.
Mahendra Gharat, member of the Loknete DB Patil International Airport Naming All-Party Action Committee, in an exclusive conversation with mid-day revealed that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has personally assured them that the name “Loknete DB Patil International Airport” had been agreed upon in principle.
“We met Fadnavis on October 3. He told us that the Prime Minister was positive about naming the airport after Loknete DB Patil. But there’s a procedure; a form will be sent to the state by the Centre, and it has to be filled out and sent back. Then, finally, it will be approved. It may take two months,” Gharat said.
“We’ll wait till December-end. If there’s no written confirmation or the name doesn’t appear on tickets and flight announcements, then no flight will be allowed to take off,” Gharat warned. Gharat added that similar naming proposals for other airports, including those in Pune (after Jagadguru Sant Tukaram) and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, have already moved ahead, and Navi Mumbai should be no different.
