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Service record to go online
‘Chakka jam’ passes off peacefully
Every village to have road link by 2020, says Dhumal
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Heavy rain again
Rain, a bane for many
Political games in sports arena
Pong Dam oustees ‘betrayed’
Kangra Health Dept in a mess
238 fake pension beneficiaries identified
MC ‘turning’ city into dumping ground
Super Max to resume operations shortly
Bamboo variety to shoo away wild animals
Bank chairman removed
Mountaineering institute renamed
Train engine derails
Tourism projects
112-cr Mahamritunjaya yantra project launched
More DTH systems sought
Pathania to head Cong fact-finding panel
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Service record to go online
Shimla, August 13 Chief secretary Asha Swaroop has directed all departments to initiate the process for computerisation of the service books and train employees to undertake this task so that record can be accessed on the Internet. With the entire service record of the employees being available on the Net, anybody can access it and even the employees can get any wrong entry changed or get additions made. However, there will be no scope for tampering as separate passwords will be made available to the administrator, supervisor and employees. The personnel department will be the nodal agency for the implementation of the project, while NIC will impart training to the staff that will take care of the new system. All departments have been directed by the personnel department to send the progress report with regard to the implementation of the programme to it every month. The service books of all employees of various departments, boards and corporation in the state will be brought under the system. In fact, the government is keen that the training of all employees is completed by September so that the record can be put on the Net. Sources said the Departments of Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) and the Civil Supplies Corporation had taken the lead in this regard as these had already started making entries after getting their staff trained. Employees of the Departments of Education, Election, and the DC office, Shimla, were undergoing training. The implementation of the new programme will also help the heads of departments, boards and corporations to give details about the exact number of vacancies, transfers and recruitments at the click of the mouse. Another major advantage of the new system will be the quick availability of data about the employees serving in hard areas. It will be easy to know as to how long an employee has served there and also about the vacancies. |
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‘Chakka jam’ passes off peacefully
Shimla, August 13 The ‘chakka jam’ passed off peacefully barring minor incidents at the Victory Tunnel in the state capital. The activists of the BJP, the VHP, the Bajrang Dal, the ABVP and other Hindu organisations blocked traffic at the main roads in the town. In some urban areas, office goers and schoolchildren were seen stranded. Various organisations demanded that the land, earlier given to the Amarnath Shrine Board, be given back as it was to be utilised for creating facilities for the pilgrims. They said the decision of the Jammu and Kashmir government to cancel the allotment had hurt the sentiments of lakhs of Hindus. SOLAN: The nationwide call of the BJP to close traffic for two hours today morning disrupted normal road and railway traffic as nearly four trains en route Shimla-Kalka had to be halted for hours together due to the complete disruption of traffic on the NH-22 at Chambaghat at the crucial railway crossing. Traffic was also blocked on the NH-21-A at Baddi. Though the police registered a case at Solan in this connection, no such action was taken against the BJP workers who closed the NH-21-A at Baddi. KANGRA: A ‘chakka jam’ call given by the VHP left life out of gear in Kangra valley and disrupted traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi and Dharamsala-Delhi National Highways. Despite heavy rains, VHP volunteers in large number arrived at the Gurkhari Chowk, connecting both national highways, and blocked the traffic for two hours. The VHP workers also blocked the Shimla-Kangra National Highway at Jawalamukhi in Dehra subdivision of this district. BJP workers from Dharamsala, Kangra, Shahpur and Nagrota Bagwan headed by BJP district general secretary Indvir Kholi blocked the traffic and raised slogans against the UPA government for its failure to tackle the Amarnath land row. NURPUR: A complete bandh was observed by the trading community at Nurpur and Jassur towns. Hundreds of VHP and Hindu Jagran Manch (HJM) activists assembled on the Chogan- Chamba link road chowk here amidst downpour and blocked traffic on the Pathankot-Mandi National Highway and the Nurpur-Chamba link road for one and a half hour. Addressing a rally, state BJP vice-president and former Rajya Sabha MP Kirpal Parmar and state BJP secretary Rajiv Bhardwaj criticised the UPA government for adopting a policy of appeasement of minorities at the cost of religious sentiments of Hindus. NAHAN: Responding to nationwide bandh call, almost all roads in the district were blocked by BJP workers. In Paonta area, a large number of BJP workers lead by local BJP MLA Sukh Ram Chaudhary assembled on the Badrinagar Chowk and blocked traffic on the Dehra Dun-Chandigarh and Paonta-Chopal highways for two hours. In Nahan, BJP workers lead by its district president Baldev Bhandari took out a protest march on the Mall Road and blocked the Chandigarh-Shimla Highway at Chawgan for two hours. Bandh was also observed at Sangrah, Sarahan, Rajgarh and Shillai. DHARAMSALA: Workers of the BJP and its allied parties blocked traffic near Mator crossing for about two hours. The traffic on the Dharamsala-Palampur, Dharamsala-Pathankot and the Dharamsala-Kangra road remained disrupted due to protests. |
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Every village to have road link by 2020, says Dhumal
Shimla, August 13 Stating this while reviewing the functioning of the Public Works Department (PWD) at a meeting here today, Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal said habitations having population exceeding 250 would be connected by 2012 and villages with 500-plus population by the end of the current financial year. He said 305 more villages would be added to the existing network of 8,115 villages already connected through motorable roads during the current financial year. The target of connecting all 17,449 villages would be achieved by 2020. The existing network of 29,525-km road length and 1,546 bridges would soon include tunnels as the government had decided to construct six vital tunnel links measuring 4,815 m at an estimated cost of Rs 479.2 crore. He said the new tunnels had also been proposed on the Bhuboo Jot-Ghatasani road, the Bangana-Dhaneta road and the Holi-Utrala road for which pre-feasibility report was being prepared. Dhumal said the state had nine national highways measuring 1,260 km and the Planning Commission of India had agreed in principle to upgrade the Nagrota-Ranital-Dehra-Mubarakpur and the Paonta-Rajban-Shillai-Meenus-Hatkoti roads to national highways. A proposal had also been sent for upgrading the Taradevi-Jubbarhatti-Kunihar-Ramshehar-Nalagarh-Ghanouli, Sainj-Luhari-Banjar-Aut-Bagitar and the Chandigarh-Baddi-Nalagarh-Ramshehar-Arki-Shalaghat roads to the national highways. Efforts were afoot to have the Ghumarwin-Sarkaghat-Binate; Bharmour-Chamba-Dalhousie-Pathankot, Hamairpur-Samirpur-Palampur, Slappar-Pandoh-Chailchowk-Karsog-Tattapani-Dhalli and Kumarhatti-Sarahan-Nahan-Paonta Sahib-Dehradun roads as additional national highways to take their total number to 19. All this would increase the length of national highways by over 1,164 km. The Chief Minister said out of the total 3,243 gram panchayats, 2,902 had already been connected, while efforts were afoot to cover 309 additional gram panchayats. In terms of road density, Hamirpur district was at the top with 149.55 km of road per 100 sq km, while in terms of population the road density was the highest in Lahaul-Spiti at 34.76 km per 1,000 population. |
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Heavy rain again
Shimla, August 13 Power supply has been severely affected in many parts of the state capital. With trees being uprooted at many places in the town, vehicular movement was also affected, forcing the authorities to divert traffic through alternative routes. According to the local meteorological office, rain and thundershower will occur at many places during the next 48 hours. There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall at isolated places. Amb in Una has had the highest rainfall of 162 mm during the past 72 hours. Una had 100 mm rainfall, while the figure was 66 mm in case of Bharwain (Una district) and 57 mm in case of Kasauli. The south-west monsoon was active in the entire state. The monsoon activity in June was 100 per cent above normal, while in July it was minus 5 per cent. During August, there has been normal rainfall so far. BILASPUR: Five houses were virtually demolished as a result of subsiding of a large tract of soil at Panga village at Kutella gram panchayat in Kot Kehloor constituency near here last night. Confirmed reports said the mishap occurred due to heavy and incessant rain that lashed the region all night. No loss of life has been reported so far. However, five houses have been completely destroyed and a total loss of over Rs 20 lakh has been reported. Several other houses have also developed serious cracks and many of these may collapse any time, reports say. Panchayat president Purushottam Chand said the district administration had been informed and revenue officers were assessing the loss while panchayat was also providing help to the affected farmers. He urged the government to provide maximum help to these families so that they could build their houses at the earliest. Kangra: Kangra valley was lashed by widespread rains continuously for more than 28 hours leaving life out of gear. The incessant rains dropped down the mercury considerably. Reports of rain were received also from Nagrota Bagwan, Dharamsala, Jawalamukhi, Dehra, Gaggal, Shahpur, Palampur, Mallan and Chamunda. It was recorded 83 mm rains in Kangra during the last 24 hours. The light vehicles got stranded on the Dharamsala-Hoshiarpur National Highway at Dhaliara for more than two hours. |
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Rain, a bane for many
Dhaliara, August 13 In monsoons, around 50,000 residents of the area have to cross three rivulets, which are generally prone to flash floods. Thus, the people have to pass through these rivulets that can be life- threatening also during this season. When the water level in the rivulets rise in the monsoons, the traffic remains disrupted for hours. The major rivulets that torment the residents due to inability of the government to provide bridges or causeways through them ,include Dai Khad, Badal Thor Khad, Chinor Khad and Rori Kori Khad. The residents of the area alleged that the school and college children had to skip their classes as they could not cross the flooded rivers. They also said the Dhaliara and Didasila areas were among very few areas of the state which was still haunted by nature’s forces due to inadequate infrastructure. The PWD officials blamed the poor infrastructure in the area on non-availability of funds. |
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Political games in sports arena
Shimla, August 13 Although the politicians have been associated with various sports bodies for long, the tendency to grab the top organisational posts and try to remain at the helm by hook or crook was relatively a recent phenomenon. The politicians have the typical propensity to cling to the post they are holding and they could go to any extent to achieve this objective. This tendency is being increasingly reflected in sports associations much to the discomfiture of athletes and players who suffer the most in the process. Initially, sportspersons took initiative in associating politicians and bureaucrats with sports organisations as patrons just to ensure that they got a good amount as government grant and did not face problems in arranging other facilities like playgrounds, rest houses, and hostel accommodation for conducting tournaments. Sports being the last priority of the government, such tactics helped in running the affairs of the fund-starved organisations smoothly. However, subsequently the politicians developed a vested interest in controlling the sports bodies and they started indulging in behind-the scene manoeuvres to secure the top posts. In recent years, they have shed all inhibitions in delving into the affairs of the sports bodies, and are taking desperate measures to control these organisations. Ram Lal Thakur has been heading the HPOA for almost two decades, and last time when the BJP came to power, the then sports minister, Praveen Sharma, made all efforts to dislodge him. However, Thakur somehow managed to survive. This time election has triggered off a controversy with both Thakur and Nadda claiming unanimous election as president even though the registrar cooperative societies had declared the meeting illegal. During the previous term of P.K. Dhumal as Chief Minister, his son Anurag Thakur became the president of the State Cricket Association. The Virbhadra Singh government, which came to power, subsequently, enacted the Sports Act to target him and took legal recourse in the matter. The case is still pending with the high court. The BJP had been demanding scrapping of the Act all along, but after coming to power, it had not done so over the past eight months. Instead, it is being used in the case of the HPOA, which is not covered under it. |
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State Olympic Association Poll
Shimla, August 13 He alleged the mastermind behind the sordid drama enacted by BJP leaders during the elections on August 10 was Anurag Thakur, MP and the elder son of Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal. Thakur said Nadda was not associated with any sports body and he had come to the meeting only as a proxy to president of state boxing federation Joginder Chand. He did not have any support among the delegates present at the meeting and was banked on the absentees only who had given authorisation letters. President Anil Sharma had given two authorisation letters and said that out of the total 17 affiliated bodies, only 16 associations were eligible to participate in the elections, out of which 10 supported him. Sensing that the numbers were not in their favour, they did not propose any name for the post. The presiding officer declared him as elected and the House also passed a resolution, authorising him to constitute the new team of office bearers. However, when he was leaving the venue, the BJP leaders snatched the register in which attendance of delegates was marked from the presiding officer. The falsehood indulged in by Nadda and Anurag could be judged from the fact that the state boxing association had two delegates, but in the team announced by Nadda ,who falsely claimed that he was elected as the president, had three officer bearers from the association. He declared himself as the president, Joginder Chand who gave him the authorisation letter was made the vice-president, and Rajesh Bhandari as
the treasurer. Further, the police refused to register an FIR of presiding officer J.S Negi, from whom the register was snatched. He said he would move to the high court regarding the behaviour of the police and the forged documents submitted during the elections. The worst part was that Anurag and Nadda first tried to get the elections stalled by producing a stay order from the cooperation department, but when
they failed to do so, they claimed the unanimous elections. A minister and an MP are not expected to violate the government’s order. Anurag had hijacked the cricket association by inducting 26 life members with voting rights and also made his father P.K.Dhumal as the chief patron. |
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Pong Dam oustees ‘betrayed’
Kangra, August 13 President Pong Dam Visthapit Sangrash Samiti Ashwani K.Awasthi today said it was a nexus between the two BJP governments of Himachal and Rajasthan to deprive the dam oustees of their legal rights. In a letter to Chief Minister P.K.Dhumal, he wrote the Apex court had ordered that 1188 murabas should be taken in possession by the Rajasthan government from the Rajasthani people and be allotted to the pending eligible dam oustees. He added the Rajasthan government had not dispossessed those residents from the land, which was meant for oustees and thus, violating the Apex court orders. The court had directed the Rajasthan government that the land should be allotted to the eligible Pong dam oustees which the government failed to do. He alleged that the Himachal government in connivance with the Rajasthan government was paving the way for exchanging this land, thus, violating the court directions. Awasthi said the Himachal government made a 12-member subcommittee headed by Dr. Harbans Rana, who was not an oustee, to have bilateral talks with the Rajasthan government. He added that six, out of 12 members, were not the oustees.The subcommittee which left for Rajasthan yesterday was ultimately working against the Supreme Court verdict and against the interests of
the oustees. Criticising the state government, he said former revenue minister Rajan Sushant, a dam oustee, who fought a number of battles for the upliftment and welfare of the oustees was conveniently ignored by the Dhumal government and was replaced by Harbans Rana, who is not an oustee. Awasthi said the land should not be exchanged but should be allotted to the dam oustees. |
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Kangra Health Dept in a mess
Dharamsala, August 13 Most of the vital posts in the department here are lying vacant and are being managed by doctors posted elsewhere through an additional charge. The post of chief medical officer (CMO), who heads the Health Department in the district and is responsible for managing the health institutions, is lying vacant. The additional charge for the post has been given to the principal of rural health and family welfare training center at Chheb, 6 km from Kangra. The post of district family welfare officer fell vacant two months ago. However, the government did not post a new officer. The additional charge for the post has been given to a medical officer posted at Kangra. The post of the district TB officer fell vacant. The post of district AIDS programme officer has also been lying vacant for more than two months in Dharamsala. The additional charge for the post has been handed over to block medical officer of Nagrota Bagwan, 20 km from Dharamsala. Sources here told that the policy of the government to hand over additional charges to medical officers was proving detrimental. The doctors, who have been given dual or additional charge, cannot perform their duties at both places of their posting. The post of medical officer (health) in a district is meant for senior doctors. However, in Kangra district the post of medical officer (health) has been handed over to a junior doctor, who has not even been promoted as block medical officer, the sources here said. |
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238 fake pension beneficiaries identified
Dharamsala, August 13 This information was given by minister for social security Sarveen Chaudhary. She was here at the Dharamsala mini secretariat to hear grievances of residents of the district. The minister said pension was given to beneficiaries on the recommendation of gram sabhas. An inquiry had been initiated into the sanctioning of pension to fake beneficiaries. Action could be taken against such beneficiaries and officials who overlooked facts while dealing with such cases. The minister said the government used to spends Rs 4.23 crore on disbursing pension through money orders. However, the state would now disburse social security pension through the State Bank of India. The move would help government save about Rs 1.5 crore. She said there were 2,37,282 beneficiaries under the social security pension scheme in the state. They were getting a pension of Rs 300 per month. There were 45,344 social security pension beneficiaries in the Kangra district, she said.
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MC ‘turning’ city into dumping ground
Mandi, August 13 The board has asked the council to clean the hot spots after rains or face the consequences. The high-level team, led by board chairman Hirander Hira and its member secretary Nagin Nanda, made a surprise visit recently and spotted over 54 hot spots littered with solid and other wastes dumped haphazardly. The board held the council, including the ward councilors, responsibe for dumping wastes in over 54 spots along the Suketi khad, Sakiudi nalla, polluting the Beas river. The debris and solid wastes dumps have been spotted in those areas in the town, where most of the hotels and restaurants are located. After holding a meeting with the councilors, the team asked the council and the district administration to clean the mess soon after the rainy season. They had been asked to facilitate a door-to-door waste collection service in their wards. But, the councilors in turn, said they faced shortage of sweepers, waste bins and routes to take the waste from the households to the dumping grounds. Council president Sushila Sonkhla said the door-to-door collection in 5 wards was being extended in other wards. The council needed more drivers and sweepers, but it was not getting the permission.
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Super Max to resume operations shortly
Shimla, August 13 One of the major issues of reinstatement of the nine suspended employees has been resolved. All nine workers, who had been served the termination notice, have agreed to move to the Guwahati unit of Super Max. The suspension of these nine workers was the bone of contention that had aggravated the situation leading to the June 30 violence. The management has agreed to hire the services of a certified chartered engineer to assess the damage to the machinery and equipment so that repair can be undertaken. “Though we cannot set a time frame, it will take about two months for the sophisticated equipment to undergo calibration and realignment outside the state,” said Subhash D. Chaudhari, GM (HR). Ever since violence took place at Virgo Appliances Private Limited on June 30, various labour organisations, including the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) and the CITU, had been holding demonstrations at Shoghi, practically every day. The management has also agreed to pay a relief of Rs 8 lakh to the family of deceased worker Amarjeet Singh of Sunni area. The management has already deposited a cheque for Rs 5 lakh with the labour commissioner in the name of the legal dependants of the deceased. However, there is no formal agreement with regard to dropping the name of Super Max owner R.K. Malhotra and CEO (Virgo Appliances) V.K. Tripathi from the FIR. Police sources said their names could be dropped from the FIR only if the complainant approached the police to do so. The management had been resenting the fact that the name of Malhotra had been dragged into the case. After the police issued summons to him to join the investigation, he sought exemption on the plea that he was medically unfit.
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Bamboo variety to shoo away wild animals
Dharamsala, August 13 According to the Institute of Himalayan Bio-resource Technology (IHBT), a CSIR centre at Palampur, the solution to the problem lies in the use of a bamboo variety. Scientists of the IHBT said Bambusa Bamboos could be used as bio-fencing in areas near forests. Anil Sood of the IHBT said, “This variety of bamboos comes from Kerala. It has big thorns. Once fully grown, it becomes very difficult for any animal to cross through these plants. The variety has grown well in the field of the institute at Palampur and the experts now plan to introduce it in the fields of farmers.” “We recommend that the farmers whose fields are near forests should grow this variety along the boundary of their fields at a distance of 5 m. In three years, these plants will grow and block the entry of wild animals into their fields,” he added. According to him, the bamboo fence will also give value addition to farmers. Their sale can fetch them money. Moreover, calcium gets deposited on the interior portions of these bamboos that can be used in pharmaceutical units. The leaves of the said variety also yield good quality fodder. This variety could also be used by farmers of Gurdaspur, Hoshiarpur and Ropar districts of Punjab and Una district of Himachal. “Farmers in these areas often complain of damage to their crops by wild animals,” Anil Sood said. The IHBT and other institutions have motivated farmers of Himachal to grow various bamboo varieties under the national bamboo mission. Many farmers have grown bamboos in various parts of Kangra district also. However, due to poor marketing, they are not getting adequate price for their bamboo produce. They said they got just Rs 5 to Rs 10 for a fully-grown bamboo, while the same produce fetched Rs 25 to Rs 30 per piece in the plains. The myth among the farmers that the land on which bamboo is grown cannot be used for any other purpose is another hindrance in promoting bamboo cultivation. The experts will have to make bamboo cultivation financially viable for motivating farmers to accept it.
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Bank chairman removed
Shimla, August 13 The order sacking Mehta as the director of the governing body of the bank was issued by the registrar of cooperative societies on the basis of the report that found some of the charges levelled against him to be true. With his removal from the board of directors, he automatically ceased to be the chairman of the board. He will no longer remain on the board of HIMFED as the nominee of the bank. The charges against him mainly pertained to misuse of official vehicle and claiming false travelling allowance and dearness allowance.
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Mountaineering institute renamed
Shimla, August 13 As per an official notification issued here today, the institute will now be called the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports. Vajpayee considers Manali as his second home and has a cottage in the picturesque tourist destination. He has been regularly visiting Manali for retreat. He continued the routine even after becoming the Prime Minister. He loves the environment of the institute and had been holding all his press conferences and poetic symposiums there.
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Train engine derails
Kangra, August 13 According to Railway police sources, the engine of the passenger train derailed when it was on way towards Kangra railway station this morning. No one was hurt in the derailment. The rescue team rushed to the spot and the engine was again put on the track. The heavy rains in the area were said to be responsible for the derailment of the railway engine.
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Tourism projects
Shimla, August 13 An official spokesperson said here today that the secretary and the commissioner (tourism) would be members of the authority from now onwards. Till now, the authority was clearing industrial investments in the state.
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112-cr Mahamritunjaya yantra project launched
Mandi, August 13 Sahajanand said the nerve-centre, Muladhar, of the mahamritunjaya yantra as per Hindu beliefs is the Hateshwari temple in Baloth village in Mandi. “The project is under construction in the Satpura range in Madhya Pradesh, central region of the country,” he added. He added that there had been no mahayantra in the world so far. He said the cost of the mahayantra project was Rs. 112 crore and would be completed in 2012. The yantra alone would cost Rs.18 crore and would be built by special Anandi stone found in Aushangabad. |
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More DTH systems sought
Shimla, August 13 In a letter addressed to the Prime Minister, he said the districts of Lahaul-Spiti and Bharmour subdivision of Chamba district were very remote areas and remained inaccessible for over six months in a year. With the installation of DTH systems in every household in tribal areas, people living there would have access to all Doordarshan and AIR channels. |
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Pathania to head Cong fact-finding panel
Shimla, August 13 The other two members are Mukesh Agnihotri and Rajesh Dharmani, both legislators. The committee will visit the site of mishap and meet witnesses and survivors and submit its report within 10 days. |
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