Thousands from Thane and Raigad districts, mobilised by local groups seeking for Navi Mumbai airport to be named after late socialist leader D B Patil, staging a massive protest. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar) THE NAVI Mumbai Airport All Party Action Committee, which was formed to demand the naming of the upcoming Navi International airport after late socialist leader DB Patil, has decided to withdraw its planned protest at the Navi Mumbai airport site where it had threatened to stop work on the project starting August 16.
The decision was taken after the committee members met Jyotiraditya Scindia, Minister of Civil Aviation in New Delhi.
Since May, several protests have been staged by thousands of villagers from Thane, Palghar and Raigad demanding that the under-construction airport be named after late PWP leader DB Patil and not after late Sena Supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, which was sanctioned earlier at a board meeting of the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO).
Earlier on June 24, after staging a huge rally against CIDCO in Navi Mumbai, the protestors said that if the state does not decide on naming the airport after Patil by August 15 they will stop construction work from August 16.
According to Dashrath Patil, President of Navi Mumbai Airport All Party Action Committee, a delegation met with Scindia in New Delhi on Friday. Patil said Scindia took details of the project and expressed displeasure over CIDCO’s hurry in naming the airport while the construction is still ongoing.
“He told us that the decision to name the airport will be taken when work on the project is complete. He assured us that our demands will be taken into consideration. He requested us not to stop the work of the airport and he will give us all the co-operation and hence, for now, we have decided not to protest on Monday. However, we also want to convey clearly, in future if any government be it the Centre or the state play with the protestors’ emotions, then the protest will start again,” Patil said.
BJP MLA from Panvel Prashant Thakur said, “The minister has assured us that when the airport will be named, we will be consulted and our demands will be considered. However, he said there is still a lot of time for the completion of the airport and till then we should wait and hence we have decided to cancel the protest on August 16 temporarily.”
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