Srinagar, Jan. 12 -- Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) finally acted on the repeated complaints of residents and environmentalists and partially demolished a private hut in the tourism park on the West side of Nigeen Lake on Tuesday.

The demolition was however stopped after the owner of the hut, an influential businessman along with officials from the tourism department intervened and stopped LAWDA workers from razing it to ground, alleged head of an NGO which spearheaded the campaign for encroachment free Nigeen.

According to residents, the Tourism Department acquired 176 kanal and 18 marla of land on the Western shores of Nigeen Lake in early seventies for building a public park.

However it was only in 2008 the land w...