Having lived in Navi Mumbai for over three decades, I find myself asking a simple question every now and then — sometimes seriously and sometimes a bit sarcastically — why has the Navi Mumbai International Airport still not been officially named after Loknete D. B. Patil?
For a long time now, we have heard assurances from various leaders that the airport would be named after Loknete Dinkar Balu Patil, widely respected in this region for his role in fighting for the rights of local farmers during the land acquisition phase of Navi Mumbai’s development. Many residents supported the demand because the airport itself stands on land that once belonged to villages in this region.
Yet even today, every signboard, announcement and official reference still calls it simply the Navi Mumbai International Airport, or NMIA.
Of course, for many travellers the name may not matter much. But for local families who have lived here for generations — and who remember the struggles their forefathers went through, often under the leadership of D. B. Patil — the name carries a deeper meaning. It represents recognition of that history and a long-awaited honour for a leader who played a significant role in the region’s development.
We keep hearing that the final approval requires a formal notification from the Union government. That may well be the case. But from a resident’s perspective, the question remains — if the intention has already been expressed many times, why does the process appear to be taking so long?
The airport is ready. Flights have begun. Passengers are travelling through it. Everything seems to be moving forward smoothly — except the name.
So one cannot help but ask: Do the people of the region have to grease the hands of the government to get the airport named after ‘Loknete D. B. Patil’?
Prashant Bansode, Uran
