FAIZABAD (Pajhwok): Though the Ministry of Defence dispatched food items and tents through helicopters to the floods-affected families of northeastern Badakhshan families but the people demanded they direly needed more assistance, an official said on Tuesday. 
Director Afghanistan National Disaster Management Authority (ANDMA) warned that the affected families would face famine-like situation if they were not provided with food assistance.
Humayun Dehqan told Pajhwok Afghan News the flash floods damaged a vital bridge, blocking the main road from Faizabad to the affected areas. The authorities, he said were forced to transport food items and tents through helicopters to the affected community.
He said that Red Crescent, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), UNICEF and World Food Program (WFP) provided food assistance and shelter to the people affected by land sliding. The food and other assistance included 85 tons of food items, 163 tents, 237 pairs of pillow and beds, 340 blankets, 180 sheets and dresses for 237 persons.
Abdullah Naji Nazari, hed of the provincial council, said the dead bodies buried under the debris could not be retrieved in the aftermath of the devastating land slide.
Local religious leaders and residents of the locality said they performed collective funeral prayers for those buried under the rubbles.
At least 52 persons, including women and children, were dead after a massive landslide hit a remote village in the Khawahan district of the province last month.
bn/shah/rm