Work begins on Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Village
Beijing: Work began on Friday for the Beijing Olympic village for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
The village in the north of urban Beijing, with a total floor space of 200,000 square metres, is one of the three Olympic villages for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, reports Xinhua news agency.
The other two are in Yanqing District in the northern suburb of Beijing, and the city of Zhangjiakou in neighbouring Hebei Province.
After the Games, the village will be turned into public rental housing, according to the state-owned Beijing Investment Group, the investor, builder and operator of the village.
The company said the design of the village has given full consideration to the needs of both the Games and the residents that will move in after the Games.
It will be of high quality and environmental friendly, company officials said.
Beijing hosted the Summer Games in 2008. In 2015, it won the bid to co-host the Winter Games with Zhangjiakou in 2022.
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Ladakh leaders welcome Wangchuk's release, demand others' freedom
New Delhi (PTI): Leaders from Ladakh on Saturday welcomed climate activist Sonam Wangchuk's release from Jodhpur jail and demanded the release of remaining detainees.
Wangchuk was released from prison on Saturday after the Union government revoked his detention with immediate effect.
Ladakh MP Mohamad Hanifa hailed his release and urged the government to accept their demands for statehood and protection under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.
"We welcome the release of Sonam Wangchuk. But others also need to be released, and the government should also take back the cases filed against people who participated in the protests," Hanifa told PTI.
The Union Home Ministry, in its statement, commented on the law and order situation in the Union Territory.
"... prevailing atmosphere of bandhs and protests has been detrimental to the peace-loving character of the society and has adversely affected various sections of the community, including students, job aspirants, businesses, tour operators and tourists and overall economy," it said.
Hanifa, however, said protest is a Constitutional right, and urged the government to resolve the issue through dialogue.
"If our voice is not heard in any other way, then there is another way to protest. We have always protested peacefully from day one, and we believe in peaceful protests. This is to make our voice reach the government," he said.
"We have always said that we want a solution to these issues through dialogue," he said.
Kargil-based politician and Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA) member Sajjad Kargili, in a post on X, demanded the immediate release of Deldan Namgial and Smanla Dorjey, and appealed to the government to drop all charges against other detainees unconditionally.
"The revocation of NSA against Shri Sonam Wangchuk is a welcome move. However, our struggle of our legitimate rights continues," he said.
Wangchuk was detained on September 26, 2025, two days after protests over demands for statehood for Ladakh and its inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution rocked Leh.
More than 45 people, including 22 policemen, were injured in the protests.
