Prayers at Kolkata airport mosque suspended amid security concerns

The Bakra Mosque, located about 165 metres from the Kolkata airport runway, has long been flagged as a potential obstacle to flight operations and emergency procedures.

In Short

• Mosque is 165 metres from runway, seen as flight operation obstacle
• Authorities raise security concerns over mosque access without standard airport IDs
• Discussions on relocating mosque outside airport premises underway

Offering prayers at the 136-year-old Bakra Mosque near Kolkata airport's second runway has been suspended from Saturday, amid security concerns and discussions over relocating the structure outside the airport premises.

The mosque, located about 165 metres from the runway, has long been flagged as a potential obstacle to flight operations and emergency procedures. Authorities have decided to stop issuing entry passes to the mosque premises, while discussions are underway between the state and central governments over shifting the historic structure beyond the airport boundary.

West Bengal BJP MLA Sourav Sikdar, who represents the North Dum Dum Assembly constituency, said security concerns surrounding access to the mosque were discussed at a recent meeting with officials. Sikdar also visited the mosque near Jessore Road to review the situation.

Sikdar claimed that people offering prayers at the mosque did not possess standard airport identity cards and alleged that the existing access system required only the display of an identity card before being taken by CISF personnel to the mosque located within the airport area.

"The airport runway falls under Level 3 security. Such access arrangements raise serious security concerns," Sikdar said, adding that the issue had also been flagged by senior police officials.

The BJP MLA also raised questions over the ownership of the land on which the mosque stands, claiming that official records show it belongs to the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and not the mosque committee.

"We requested the committee several times to shift prayers elsewhere, but they rejected the proposals," Sikdar said.

He added that prayers at the mosque has been stopped temporarily for the next few days to facilitate construction and development work, and said the AAI would have the final say on the matter as the land falls under its jurisdiction.

THE REAL STORY OF THE MOSQUE INSIDE KOLKATA AIRPORT

The little mosque inside Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, actually predates the airport itself by several decades.

According to reports, citing airport authorities and locals, the mosque has existed since the late 19th century, precisely since the 1890s. This was well before the British built an aerodrome on Calcutta's northern outskirts.

In the 1890s, the place where the secondary runway is now was a village, of which the mosque was a part.

In 1924, the British-era aerodrome, the precursor to the modern Calcutta/Kolkata Airport, was constructed near the old Royal Artillery Armoury (now Dum Dum Cantonment). Still then, there existed the human settlements encompassing the mosque to the west of the Dum Dum Airport.

Later in the 1950s and the 1960s, as air traffic grew, the airport was expanded westwards and a new (secondary) runway was added. During that expansion, villages to the north and west of the primary runway were cleared and residents moved across Jessore Road to what is now called the Madhyamgram.

Later, as time passed, the mosque kept being used by local Muslims, despite being inside the airport's operational area. The mosque is recorded in the airport land deed, a local worshipper told The Times of India in 2019.

From then on, the mosque stood inside the airport's operational area. Over the decades, as aircraft grew in size and count and aviation safety norms tightened, its presence became an increasing impediment.

- Ends