Overview
- This week BJP leaders and the Union civil aviation ministry pushed a plan that would shift the Gouripur Jame Masjid and a nearby temple to make room for runway and terminal expansion.
- Authorities and proponents say the mosque lies very close to the airport boundary and secondary runway, which they argue restricts full runway use and complicates aircraft operations and instrument landing system upgrades.
- District-level consultations have taken place at the magistrate’s office with mosque representatives including Siddiqullah Chowdhury, but talks have not reached agreement and mosque representatives have signalled resistance.
- Key claims such as Airports Authority of India ownership of the mosque land and the temple’s planned relocation are reported mainly via BJP MLA Sourav Sikdar and have not yet been independently verified.
- The proposal is being advanced as a fast-tracked economic project tied to a Delhi-style Aerocity and reflects a political push by the new state BJP leadership to deliver visible infrastructure gains while navigating a sensitive history of past relocation debates.