Jamaat-e-Islami lawmaker elected from Chattogram Shahjahan Chowdhury on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction over the sound system and headphones used in the Jatiya Sangsad.

Speaking during an unscheduled discussion in parliament, he criticised the size and quality of the headphones provided to lawmakers.

Displaying the device in the House, he said the headphones were unusually large and uncomfortable to use for long periods during parliamentary sessions.

“We have served in parliament before and so have you. But sitting for one or two hours with such a heavy device over the head is uncomfortable for everyone,” he said.

 “In the 1991 parliament we ran proceedings without this. It also worked during the 2001 parliament under the four-party alliance government,” he said.

He alleged that the system appeared to have been introduced through a budget allocation that allowed certain groups to benefit financially.

He urged the authorities to improve the overall sound system and provide simpler headphones,

Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed assured the lawmaker that they would look in the matter.

Earlier, during the first sitting of the new parliament on Thursday, technical problems were reported with the chamber’s sound system.

The Speaker had to conduct the proceedings briefly using a handheld microphone before suspending the sitting for about 20 minutes.

Jamaat MP Barrister Mir Ahmad Bin Kasem (Arman) also raised concerns over the headphones on Thursday.

In a Facebook post, he wrote that the quality of the device was poor and caused discomfort while using it.

“The quality of the headphone is so poor that using it caused pain from the ear to the head. The sound quality is also very low. The old devices in parliament likely delivered clearer audio,” he wrote.