Monsoon session begins amid Covid-19: Key changes seen today

• Benches which usually accommodate six members had a numbered sitting plan for only three
• Glass-like plastic shields of varied sizes were installed in front of benches to protect members from coronavirus.

Glass-like plastic shields installed on benches, while members wore face masks and maintained social distance, the 18-day Monsoon Session of the Parliament commenced today in the wake of novel coronavirus pandemic.

While nearly 200 members were present in the Lok Sabha chamber, a little over 30 were seated in the visitors' gallery located above the main chamber.

In a first, some Lok Sabha members attended the House proceedings today while seated in the Rajya Sabha chamber.

Here are some key changes on the ongoing House proceedings till 1 October:

• A giant TV screen in the Lok Sabha chamber showed very few Lok Sabha members were occupying seats in the Rajya Sabha chamber, the other venue where LS MPs have been accommodated keeping in mind physical distancing norms.
• Benches which usually accommodate six members had a numbered sitting plan for only three.
• Glass-like plastic shields of varied sizes were installed in front of benches to protect members from coronavirus. The shield also covered part of the members' sides.
• All members were wearing masks. Some were also seen wearing face shields, including Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee.
• Rajya Sabha MPs were seated in the visitor's gallery to ensure social distancing in view of the pandemic.
• Pens used by MPs to sign were being changed after every use, as per the new instructions.
• The front seats of the Treasury benches on the right of the Speaker's podium were occupied by Prime Minister Narendra Modi sitting on a seat marked as number one, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on seat number 2 and Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on seat number 3.
• The front seats of the Opposition benches were occupied by T R Baalu of the DMK and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury of the Congress.
• National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah was also present and was seated in the second row of opposition benches.

While Lok Sabha is meeting between 9 am and 1 pm on Monday, Rajya Sabha will assemble between 3 pm and 7 pm. Tuesday onwards, Rajya Sabha will meet in the morning and Lok Sabha in the afternoon.