Government agent Ganesan on Sunday instructed all employees of government and other public sectors to report for duty by Monday without fail.It is not known how many government employees would adhere to the instructions as most of them have already fled the town and were staying far away places like Anuradhapura and Colombo.

With the mass exodus, normal and commercial activities in the town came to a complete standstill. As panic stricken people were leaving, traders said that lorries carrying vegetables, coconuts and other commodities from places in the south did not arrive, forcing the few people left to pay high prices.

As shopkeepers pulled down their shutters, private and state sector banks followed suit, causing major inconvenience to those fleeing. ``Weare re-routing our operations due to tension and because of the people fleeing,'' a banker said.

Civil administration collapsed with the closure of schools, banks, hospitals and state institutions while traders who were not taking any chances have put up shutters and moved to safer areas.

The mass exodus began on Wednesday after the clandestine LTTE radio `Voice of tigers' put out a bulletin that it would strike the town with long-range artillery fire. Police and security forces did not move to stop the fleeing civilians for fear of being accused of using civilians, mainly Tamils, as a human shield.