136-Year-Old Mosque Inside Kolkata Airport to Be Demolished, Relocated Over Safety Concerns

Kolkata: For decades, the 136-year-old mosque stood within the premises of Kolkata airport, even as concerns over aviation safety continued to surface. Now, after years of discussions, the historic mosque located inside Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport is set to be relocated outside the airport boundary.

The decision follows consultations between the state government and the central government, with authorities citing aviation and passenger safety as the primary reason for shifting the structure.  

The mosque, situated near the airport's second runway, is approximately 165 metres from the runway, according to airport sources. Officials said its location had been creating safety concerns for aircraft movement, particularly during emergency landing situations.

As part of the relocation process, authorities have stopped issuing new entry passes for people visiting the mosque from Saturday. Work has also begun to identify and arrange an alternative location for offering Namaz outside the airport premises.

Decision Comes After Years of Delays

Even during the years of the Trinamool Congress government, the Airports Authority repeatedly wrote that the runway required expansion, but the government kept delaying the matter with one excuse or another. 

According to the report, the mosque's location was considered a security concern because it stood around 165 metres from the tarmac near the airport's second runway. It will now be relocated, and another area will be allotted for offering Namaz.

The report further stated that the mosque's presence posed challenges during emergency landings and that relocating it would address those concerns. It described the structure as a security threat and said the government had taken this step in view of those issues.

Issue Had Been Under Discussion for Months

The latest decision comes weeks after discussions over the mosque's future had been temporarily put on hold ahead of Eid-uz-Zuha.

On May 22, the matter was discussed at an Airport Security Committee meeting, two days after representatives of the state administration and mosque authorities met at the North 24 Parganas District Magistrate's office. A team had also visited the mosque before the meeting.

Officials had then discussed the safety and security challenges linked to the Gouripur Jame Masjid, also known as the Bankra mosque. Sources had said that both the civil aviation ministry and the state government were pushing for an early relocation, but airport authorities decided that any action should take place only after Eid-uz-Zuha.

At the time, airport authorities had reportedly informed the state administration that while they could secure the operational area and facilitate access to the mosque, they would not participate in demolishing the structure, even if central and state security forces were deployed.

The mosque predates the airport, but its location near the secondary runway has remained a safety concern for more than three decades. Previous attempts to relocate it did not succeed. In 1995, then Chief Minister Jyoti Basu marked the relocation proposal as "Not Approved." In 2002, then Union Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain also discussed relocation with then Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, including an alternative proposal involving another runway, but the plan did not move forward.

With entry now closed and the relocation process underway, authorities have begun identifying an alternative site outside the airport premises where Namaz can be offered.