Probe committee formed over parliament sound system disruption

A probe committee has been formed to investigate the sound system disruption that occurred during the maiden session of the 13th Parliament .

The decision was taken at a meeting of a parliamentary committee titled House Committee on Saturday.

Briefing reporters after the meeting Chief Whip Nurul Islam said the committee has been asked to submit its report by April 3.

The inaugural sitting of the 13th Parliament on March 12 had to be suspended due to malfunctioning audio equipment.

Concerns over the issue persisted the following day with lawmaker Shahjahan Chowdhury criticising the quality of headphones and the overall sound system.

The Chief Whip said the issue was discussed in detail and an inquiry committee has been formed under the leadership of the Sergeant-at-Arms of Parliament.

"We suspect that there may have been real sabotage. At the same time, we have invited experts from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (Buet) to examine the technical faults in the sound system," he said.

He added that the committee will look into two key aspects whether any sabotage was involved and what technical problems caused the disruption along with recommendations for solutions.

Responding to a question, he acknowledged widespread dissatisfaction with the headphones. "Everyone has complained including myself. These oversized headphones are uncomfortable - they heat up the head and ears. They will be replaced," he said.

The meeting also discussed accommodation and medical facilities of Members of Parliament.

The Chief Whip said efforts are underway to ensure that most MPs receive housing facilities, while ministers, state ministers, the Speaker, and other senior officials already have designated residences.

He further said necessary procurement processes will be expedited with allocations expected to be completed by April 10.

The parliamentary committee is scheduled to meet again on March 30.

On March 12, the sitting suffered a hick-up at the beginning of the new Speaker's tenure due to the technical glitch.

After the election of Speaker and Deputy Speaker followed by the oath taking ceremonies, the session started at 12:57pm of that day. But the microphone of the Speaker did not work that caused an awkward situation.

After repeated attempt to fix the issue, the Speaker was given a separate cordless microphone to speak.

When the Speaker started to talk, at that point a jamaat MP elected from Dhaka-12 Md Saiful Alam noticed the issue to the Speaker and said that the MPs are not hearing anything.