The ninth session of the 11th parliament drew to an end in five days amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury rounded off the session by reading out the order of President Abdul Hamid on Thursday.
Several measures were taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus during the session. Like the previous two sessions held during the pandemic, members of parliament maintained physical distance and wore masks and gloves.
Employees working in the session room also wore masks, gloves, and covered their heads. The number of working officers was also reduced.
A total of six bills were passed in this session: Habiganj Agricultural University Bill, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman University Bill, Chandpur Science and Technology University Bill, Bangladesh Reference Institute for Chemical Measurements Bill, Bangladesh Engineering Research Council Bill and Gazipur Development Authority Bill.
This is the third parliamentary session since the coronavirus outbreak hit Bangladesh in March. The MPs had to get tested for coronavirus before joining the session.
The seventh and eighth (budget) sessions of parliament were held in April and June respectively.
In the seventh session, there were no discussions about running virus tests. However, after several ministers and MPs contracted the virus, the members of parliament were asked to get tested in the middle of the eighth session.
About 80 MPs will take part in the session every day. All the officers and employees are required to carry Covid-19 certificates showing they do not have the virus.
The eighth session ended on Jul 9. According to a provision in the constitution, a break of more than 60 days between two sessions is not allowed. So this session was called.
Visitors and media personnel were barred from entering the parliament building during the session.
