If you have crossed the Atal Setu, India's longest sea bridge—stretching 21.8 km from Mumbai to Navi Mumbai over the Arabian Sea—you couldn't have missed the stretch of land to your right, which remained empty for at least last five years. From Dronagiri hills in the north to Ulwe in the south, this stretch of land, until a decade ago, had a jungle, a hillock, salt pans, and gaothans (villages) of Koli fishing communities.

Today, it houses one of the biggest international airports in India—the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

In 2018, PM Modi performed the bhumi poojan for NMIA and laid its foundation stone. Till then, the plan existed only on blueprints for over two decades.

The idea of having a second air

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