Agra: Hundreds of colourful paper planes took off from the Yamuna river bed, Thursday evening, as a protest against union government's decision to deny Agra an international airport.

Tourism circles said the union civil aviation ministry was planning to site the international airport at Jewar in Bulandshahr district, ignoring Taj city's long pending claim for an airport.

The existing air strip used by an occasional plane for visiting dignitaries belongs to the Indian Air Force. Due to hassles and complications the private airlines hesitate to air connect Agra with regular flights to other cities.

Travel and hotel industry leaders who participated in Thursday evening's programme reminded PM Narendra Modi of his pre-election rally speech in which he had promised an international airport for the Taj city. The paper planes that hit the skies were made of paper with Modi speech. Senior tourism industry leader Rajiv Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Agents Associations of India, said "if any city in India had a just claim for an airport it was Agra which gets the maximum number of foreign tourists. But successive governments had failed to provide regular air connectivity with Agra. The present airport at Kheria needs to be upgraded and provided a new terminal building and the airlines told to start regular flights from all big cities to Agra. This will give a big boost to tourism."

The paper flying protest was launched by the River Connect Campaign.

Social activists said the Akhilesh Yadav government's dilly dallying on this project raised suspicions as there were indications of move to take the international airport to Sefai, Mulayam Singh Yadav's village.