Dhubulia Airstrip

Military Decommissioning. The primary reason for closure was the end of World War II. The extensive network of airfields in the Bengal region, including Dhubulia, was built for the specific purpose of supporting the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater. With the Allied victory, the strategic need for the base ceased to exist, and it was handed over to the British Royal Air Force and subsequently the Government of India before falling into disuse.

The airfield is completely defunct and abandoned for aviation purposes. The original infrastructure is largely gone or in ruins. The land has been extensively repurposed over the decades. The former airfield site now hosts various government institutions, including a Block Development Office, the Dhubulia T.B. Hospital, schools, and residential areas. Large portions of the former runway and taxiways are now agricultural land, covered by vegetation, or have been built over by roads and structures. The faint outline of the main runway is still visible in satellite imagery but is fragmented and unusable.

Dhubulia Airstrip was a major American military airfield constructed during World War II. It was primarily used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Tenth Air Force as a combat and transport base, playing a crucial role in the China-Burma-India (CBI) Theater. The airfield hosted various units, notably elements of the 7th Bombardment Group, which flew B-24 Liberator heavy bombers on missions against Japanese targets in Burma. It also supported fighter and transport aircraft involved in the campaign. After the war and the Partition of India in 1947, the site gained new significance as the location of the Dhubulia Refugee Camp, one of the largest camps established to house displaced persons from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), and was used again during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War.

There are no known official plans or prospects for reopening Dhubulia Airstrip for aviation. Reopening is considered highly unfeasible due to the extensive encroachment and redevelopment of the land since the 1940s. The site is now home to critical civilian infrastructure and communities, making any restoration for aviation purposes practically impossible. Any future airport development in the region would likely require the acquisition of new, undeveloped land.