Devotees defy warnings, gather in Kandy

Even though the police and responsible authorities requested people not to visit Kandy for the 'Siri Dalada Wandanawa' — the special exposition of the Sacred Tooth Relic at the Sri Dalada Maligawa, large crowds continued to arrive, even yesterday. The Sri Lanka Army was deployed to manage an overwhelming crowd of more than 300,000 devotees who gathered in Kandy yesterday for the special exposition. By this morning, army personnel were actively guiding the orderly movement of devotees through extensive queues stretching far beyond the city limits, marking the seventh consecutive day of this sacred event. Pix by  Ravindra Weerasinghe.