The 136-year-old Bankra Mosque, also known as the Gouripur Jama Masjid, inside the Kolkata airport has remained shut since Sunday with Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari saying that the structure has to be relocated considering the geopolitical significance and the security of the airport.
According to sources in the know, the structure is likely to be relocated within the next three months after which infrastructural will start at the airport that will allow the full usage of the second runway. Equipping the second runway with the latest Instrument Landing Systems (ILS) is also on the cards.
A senior official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said the entry to the mosque has been shut down for worshippers “solely due to security reasons.”
The long-standing issue of a mosque inside the Kolkata airport was most recently flagged by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), the country’s aviation security regulator that operates under the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, over unrestricted civilian movement through one of the airport’s most sensitive operational zones.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday said that the proposed relocation was driven entirely by national security and operational considerations rather than religious issues.
“National security and airport security have to be prioritised. In terms of geopolitics and security, this airport’s location is critical given its proximity to Bangladesh and China. It is an international airport. Unrestricted civilian access simply cannot be permitted inside a defence and transport hub of this nature,” Adhikari said.
The mosque, situated around 150 metres inside the airport’s boundary wall and approximately 165 metres north of the secondary runway, has long been identified as a major impediment to the airport’s expansion.
Its location restricts the full operational use of the secondary runway and prevents the installation of critical navigation infrastructure required for all-weather operations.
Kolkata Airport Director Vikram Singh said the temporary closure of the mosque had been necessitated by safety considerations while acknowledging that the structure had long posed operational challenges.
“We have closed the entry to the mosque for safety reasons. The structure, however, poses a challenge to everyone involved in operating flights out of Kolkata airport. Both the runway length and the inability to fix Instrument Landing System (ILS) equipment on the second runway are major causes for concern,” Singh told The Statesman.
Reacting to the issue, Union minister of state for Education Sukanta Majumdar said successive governments had failed to address the issue because of what he described as appeasement politics.
“Previous governments never acted due to appeasement politics. We do not believe in appeasement politics. The mosque will be relocated,” he said.
Meanwhile, Maulana Siddiqullah Chowdhury, former West Bengal minister and president of the Bankra Mosque Committee said the matter should be referred to recognised Islamic institutions before any final decision was taken.
“We have repeatedly urged the airport authorities to refer the matter to Darul Uloom Deoband, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board and Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind. We are ready to participate in discussions. We want a peaceful and religious solution to the problem,” Chowdhury said.