Overview
- The Kolkata airport authority stopped allowing outsiders to enter the Gouripur/Bankra Jama Masjid during work on the expanded secondary runway, with a suspension announced for three days that remained in effect by Monday.
- For decades 20–30 worshippers were screened and escorted by CISF through Gate No. 8 on Jessore Road to reach the mosque, and Friday prayers drew many more devotees under the same procedure.
- TMC MP Saugata Roy and local Muslim leaders have demanded consultation and a reopening, saying relocation talks should not proceed without community consent.
- West Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari and other officials defended the move as a security measure tied to the airport’s occasional military use and the state’s border proximity to Bangladesh and China.
- The mosque predates the airport and sits about 165 metres from the secondary runway, a placement that has long limited runway operations and has now revived decades of relocation debate that could affect flight capacity and local worshippers.