Sources from the Assembly said it will be a very short session, likely for two days.Maintaining all Covid-19 protocols, including social distancing norms, the Monsoon Session of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly will begin on September 9.
The last session was adjourned on March 17, as the next day the state recorded its first Covid case. According to rules, the Assembly must be convened once in every six months. So, the session will be held on September 9 to abide by the rules.
Sources from the Assembly said it will be a very short session, likely for two days.
According to sources, to maintain social distancing, the seating arrangement within the Assembly will be re-arranged, by increasing the gap between the seats of two MLAs. To space out, the audience and gallery areas may also be used.
Speaker Biman Banerjee said, “We have to face a huge challenge in maintaining social distancing norm within the Assembly. However, we have made arrangement for that. We have acquired open spaces, which are not used during normal times. We will use the gallery and seating area of audience to increase the gap between two members.” Other than that, hand sanitisers and wearing masks will be mandatory.
To minimise crowd, the Speaker has announced that only one person can accompany an MLA to the Assembly and during the session.
“There is a pandemic and it is an extraordinary situation. So, MLAs should come to the Assembly without any company. If the person fails to do so, then we can allow only one person.”
During the session, no visitor or other gathering will not be allowed within the Assembly premises. According to sources, next week the Speaker will convene a meeting all-party representatives and finalise Covid regulations and also details of the session such as whether question-answer session will be held or not.
A TMC leader said, “From both ruling and Opposition, many MLAs are quite aged and prone to infection. We are not encouraging them to attend the session. We have lost two of our MLAs Tamonash Ghosh and Smaresh Das.”