Shimla : last session of 13th Himachal Pradesh Assembly will begin Wednesday at 11 am. The hill state is bound for polls within the next four months.

The four-day Monsoon session will begin with legislators paying tributes to four former members who passed away since the Budget session.

Tributes will be paid to former Union minister Pandit Sukh Ram, who died at AIIMS New Delhi on May 11 after suffering a brain stroke.

A former MP and MLA, Pandit Sukh Ram had served as the Union minister of state for communications (independent charge) between 1993 and 1996. He is remembered for bringing a telecom revolution in the country.

He contributed immensely to the development of Himachal Pradesh and for the welfare of its people during his long political career spanning over sixty years.

Former MLAs Roop Singh Chohan, Mast Ram and Praveen Sharma also died since the last session and the members would pay their respect to them as well.

Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs) issued by the Centre and the state governments in view of Covid and monkeypox will be followed during session that concludes on August 13, Speaker Vipin Parmar said.

Wearing of masks and adopting social distancing will be mandatory during the 15th session of this assembly, he added.

Thermal scanning will be done at the entrance of the Assembly building and visitors gallery would take only 50 per cent of its sitting capacity, he said.

An all-party meeting was also held Tuesday for ensuring smooth conduct of the proceedings, he added. The state is expected to go to polls in December this year.