Agence France Presse

Hikkaduwa, March 26:

Thousands of tsunami survivors lined up at a make-shift soup kitchen here today as the country staged religious services to mark the third month anniversary of the natural disaster.

This coastal resort town which is known for its coral reefs staged a series of Buddhist ceremonies to invoke blessings for 400 people from here who perished in the tsunamis.

The mayor of the town, Manoj Krishantha Jayasuriya, said the religious observances will be continued throu-ghout the weekend to honour those who died in the tsunamis, a total of nearly 31,000 people across the country. “We had about 8,500 families here displaced by the tsunami,” Jayasuriya said at a park where meals were served for survivors under a giant white canvass tent which could accommodate 400 diners at a single sitting. A free health clinic organised here for the homeless had to be shifted further inland amid fears that there could be another sea surge, Jayasuriya said. He said government restrictions on reconstruction within a 100 metre stretch of land along the coast was making it difficult for survivors to go back and rebuild their homes.