ISLAMABAD, July 22: The issue of the controversial Kalabagh dam echoed in the National Assembly again on Thursday when members started raising slogans in favour and against its construction creating a rumpus.

The pandemonium started when Dr Sher Afgan of the Pakistan People's Party-Patriots said the Kalabagh dam would be constructed at any cost. He was speaking in response to a point of order raised by Syed Naveed Qamar of the People's Party Parliamentarians about water shortage in Sindh.

Dr Sher Afgan alleged that the PPP-Parliamentarians was fanning provincialism by taking up the issue of water shortage in Sindh to block the construction of the Kalabagh dam. When he said the dam would be constructed, several opposition members shouted "it will never be constructed".

He said if the PPP-Parliamentarians claimed that it was a national party then it should not talk about the issues of a particular province. He said Punjab had wrongly been accused of water theft.

Dr Sher Afgan received heavy criticism from the opposition benches when he said they (the opposition members) were 'liars'.

One of the opposition members shouted at Dr Sher Afgan that he was a fool. Dr Sher Afgan took the floor again, saying: "I am not a fool."

Earlier, Mr Qamar said that there was no drinking water available in Sukkur, Badin and Dadu. He said the affected people were migrating to other areas. Despite the fact that the parliamentary committee on water had decided to implement the 1991 Water Accord, he regretted, the decision had not been implemented yet.

"Would the minister tell the house that when this accord will be implemented?" he asked.

Water and Power Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao admitted that water was not being distributed under the '91 accord.