Navi Mumbai airport to be named after Bal Thackeray

The state has decided to name the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport after Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray

Published on: Jun 11, 2021, 00:59:20 IST

By Surendra P Gangan

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The state has decided to name the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport after Shiv Sena founder late Bal Thackeray.

Urban development minister Eknath Shinde said the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), the nodal agency implementing the project, has taken the decision. Project-affected people and some residents of Navi Mumbai have been demanding the airport be named after late Peasant and Workers Party (PWP) leader and former MP DB Patil. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) formed a human chain on Thursday in Alibag to press for the demand. Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi leader Prakash Ambedkar too had demanded to honour DB Patil by giving his name to the project.

“We respect DB Patil. The government will consider naming any other key project from Navi Mumbai after the PWP leader,” Shinde said on Thursday.

The state government has already named Mumbai-Nagpur Samruddhi Expressway after Thackeray. Mumbai airport is named after Maratha warrior king Shivaji Maharaj.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Surendra P Gangan
Surendra P. Gangan is an Associate Editor with the Mumbai Edition of the Hindustan Times, covering politics, social and economic issues, and Maharashtra affairs. With more than three decades of experience in journalism, he has reported extensively on Maharashtra’s political landscape, its evolving power equations and the issues that shape public life in the state. A firm believer in the value of ground reporting, he enjoyes pursuing stories that generate conversation and make an impact beyond the newsroom. Outside journalism, he was university-level cricketer during his college days and remains an amateur swimmer and an enthusiastic trekker.Read More