While Raigad residents want the Navi Mumbai International Airport to be named after late local leader DB Patil, the state government already seems to have decided to name it after their late supremo Balasaheb Thackeray.
Raigad/Navi Mumbai: it looks like delays are becoming synonymous with the Navi Mumbai Inernational Airport (NMIL) as once again work on the prestigious project of CIDCO seems to be getting into a controversy that could delay the project further.
This time around, the project is making news owing to the ‘naming’ conflict that seems to have been gaining momentum and is heading toward a long period of agitation and violent protests in the coming days.
The problem with NMIL is that local Raigad residents, especially those around the immediate vicinity of the airport, want it to be named after their late leader DB Patil, an obvious demand for residents of any region.
However, the Shiv Sena run state government has already decided to name it after their late leader and party supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, a decision that is being opposed by all local residents.
Recognizing the gravity of the situation, CM Uddhav Thackeray had also called for a meeting with the local representatives from the Raigad district but the meeting could not produce terms of mutual understanding as the locals did not budge from their demand to honour their leader DB Patil.
Following the meeting and the inconclusive result, locals have called for a mass protest against the state government’s decision to name the Navi Mumbai International Airport after the late Shiv Sena supremo.
Earlier, in the month of April, the City and Industrial Development Corporation Of Maharashtra Limited (CIDCO) had passed the resolution to name the Navi Mumbai International Airport after Balasaheb Thackeray.
The resolution is being sent to the state cabinet for approval and later to the Central government for the final approval.
Apparently, during the meeting with CM Uddhav Thackeray, suggestions like naming other infrastructure projects in the Raigad district after DB Patil, were also put forth, though they remained unproductive.
MLA Prashant Thakur, who had led the local delegation remained firm on their stand.
“We stand by our demand and will not budge even if it means protesting against CIDCO and forming human chains in different nodes of Raigad.” Thakur said.
The local delegation, under Thakur’s leadership, has also planned for a “CICDO Gherao” at the CIDCO head office at CBD-Belapur, on 24th June, 2021.
While all this continues, local residents now brood over a possible delay of work on the already delayed project of Navi Mumai International Airport.
Surprisingly, this issue has emerged at a time when GVK has released the first look of the Navi Mumbai International Airport.
“First the NMIL was delayed for years owing to the PAP’s and now for the naming conflict. It looks like we are in for a delay of another year or more,” said a local resident.
Whatever the case, the NMIL seems to have been gathering a lot of negative attention ever since it’s conceptualization. Could it be gathering more?
Last Updated on June 23, 2021 by lp@admin
