By Dumeetha Luthra BBC News, Mullaitivu

At this shelter, privacy isn't an option. If one person wants to listen to the radio, some 500 others have to.

This is Mullaitivu in north-eastern Sri Lanka, an area controlled by the Tamil Tiger rebels and an area badly hit by the tsunami. Two months on, there's an increasing feeling of helplessness.

Mullaitivu is one of the worst tsunami affected areas

Rajendrun Jayaratnum says life is not improving.

“They wanted to start the school. They keep on moving the people from here to there. They said they would give us houses on the 15th of next month. I don't know, I am losing confidence”.

Shelters

He is living in this old school along with some 150 other families. Whilst in the south the schools have reopened for lessons, here they're still being used as emergency relief centres.

Food and housing and temporary shelter are being provided. Permanent housing and putting up infrastructure will take time. Some negotiations going on with the Liberation Tigers and the government. There will be some solution for that but we are providing what is necessary at the moment   Government Agent

The desks are stacked with the meagre belongings of the survivors.

Temporary shelters are being built, but not enough for the tens of thousands that have been made homeless.

The Tamil Tigers say the central government isn't providing enough help here. Moran, the rebel relief coordinator, says they are short on supplies.

“Depending on the experience I had throughout these two months, it's very unhelpful. And even if it is helpful, it's not timely. It's always being delayed and there are always bureaucratic delays.”

"Working together"

Many schools are still used as refugee centres

Since the disaster, there have been attempts to get the Tigers and government to work together in the relief effort, but not even the scale of the tragedy can suspend the decades of mistrust between the two sides.

However, the government agent here, Kandiah Shanmugalingam, says the authorities are helping as much as they can.

“The first stage is food and housing and temporary shelter. That is being provided. So the next stage is the permanent housing and putting up infrastructure. That will take time. There are some negotiations going on with the Liberation Tigers and the government. There will be some solution for that but we are providing what is necessary at the moment.”

For Vincent Corunal the political wrangling is just a backdrop to his sorrow. His village is now nothing but rubble.

Depending on the experience I had, it's very unhelpful. Even if it is helpful, it's not timely. It's always being delayed and there are always bureaucratic delays   LTTE relief coordinator

The church he used to visit with his wife and five children is now a façade. They died in the disaster, and because of memories, he'd rather be here than at the camp.

“This is where my children used to live, play and attend mass. I felt lonely when I stayed there and saw other children, and I had lost mine. Then I decided to come here.”

Tonight is the first time Vincent is going back into the water to fish. He's hoping for more help, but he's not waiting for it.

Your comments:

The magnitude of the damage caused through-out the costal belt of the country is enormous & obviously with the inefficient GOV administrative structure things could drag-on even longer. however, the LTTE has a hidden agenda having repeatedly claimed that the areas under their control is ill-treated when it comes to aid distribution or post tsunami re-construction. they want the international recognition even at this hour of dire humanitarian need, of the people that the claim to represent. the fact is, that it is the LTTE who disrupt the aid distribution, worried that they can't push their cause if the GOV will win the hearts & minds of those people.
Anil Prasanna, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Aid is delayed for all the people of SriLanka.Not only the people in the north. I am sure you are intelligent enough to work out that the dictatorial racist group like LTTE will try to score points even during a national disaster. Why don't you report about the innocent Tamil children being kidnapped by the LTTE. Democracy in SriLanka is paramount. Reporting of the BBC Sinhala.com has being disgraceful.Imperial Britain did enough damage to SriLanka during its 150 year rule of by force. They are the cause why our nation is blackmailed by people with guns today.I didn't know that you are a mouthpiece for a banned international terrorist group.
Ranjith Liyanage, Epsom, UK

Thank you your neutral media report. As we see most of Sinhala media reporters are giving very biased reports because of few like you giving news still we have hope on medias.