The naming dispute for the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA) has escalated, with project-affected persons (PAPs) and local communities announcing a massive protest march on October 6 — just two days before the airport’s reported inauguration on October 8.

The agitators, led by local leaders and “Bhumiputra” groups, insist the airport must be officially named after the late farmer leader Dinkar Balu Patil (DB Patil), who championed the cause of PAPs in Navi Mumbai. “No name, no inauguration,” has become the clear, non-negotiable stand of the organisers.