As per the schedule, the much-awaited fourth session (Monsoon Session) of the 16th Odisha Legislative Assembly (OLA) started on Tuesday amid strict execution of Covid-19 guidelines.
It would run till October 7.While Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik joined the House through videoconferencing from his residential office Naveen Niwas, MLAs Usha Devi, Badri Narayan Patra, Prafulla Samal and MLAs Shashi Bhushan Behera, Nityananda Sahoo and Sabitri Agrawal joined the proceedings from the Lokseva Bhawan.
Opposition Deputy Leader Bishnu Charan Sethi and Minister Prafulla Mallick joined from Bhadrak and Dhenkanal, respectively. MLA Rajendra Dholakia joined the proceedings from Nuapada. Leader of Opposition Pradipta Nayak, Congress Legislature Party Leader Narasingha Mishra and all other MLAs, excepting those who have tested positive for the virus, were present in the Assembly.
A good number of members sat in Visitors’ Gallery. All seats in the House were protected by glass panels.
