Piliyandala

Piliyandala (, ) is a suburb in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is situated approximately south of Colombo. It is one of the relatively more populated suburbs located in the Colombo District of the Western Province, Sri Lanka and it is surrounded by the suburbs of Moratuwa, Kesbawa, Maharagama, Pannipitiya, Bandaragama and Kahathuduwa. Piliyandala has a thriving market in the town centre (next to the clock tower) and the Kesbewa Urban Council is also located in Piliyandala.
Etymology.
It is said that prince Sapumal after capturing Yapa-Patuna (modern day Jaffna) in the 15th century AD, changed his attire in the area of Piliyandala before meeting the king in the Kotte kingdom. Thus, the name Piliyandala is derived from the words 'Pili+Andi+Dola' (පිළි+ඇඳි+දොල), meaning the stream where the king had a bath and changed clothes. This stream is still running through Piliyandala, but its now reduced to a little stream.
Piliyandala clock tower.
According to local residents and documentation, Piliyandala clock tower is one of the tallest in the island rising to a height of 78 feet with a 16-foot girth. The clock tower was erected by D. Simon Samarakoon, in the memory of his parents Cornelis Wijewickrema Samarakoon and his wife. The foundation stone for the erection of the clock tower was laid by the then Minister of Local Government C.W.W. Kannangara on 11 September 1952. The construction being completed in seven months, the clock tower was commissioned on 30 April 1953 and has been running ever since.
The clock tower in existence for more than 60 years is considered to be of archaeological value thus providing the Piliyandala town with a historical background.
Education.
Piliyandala Central College, the first national sports school established in Sri Lanka is situated in this suburb. It is one of the first central colleges founded by Hon. C. W. W. Kannangara and has about 5,000 students. The school provides facilities for sports such as Rugby, Carrom, Cricket, Football, Girls' Football, Chess, Wushu, Badminton, Karate, Swimming, Athletics, Basketball, Volleyball and Netball. Other popular schools in the area include;
Beyond the schools in the region, Piliyandala remains only a mere 3.5 kilometers away from the University of Moratuwa, The most prestigious Engineering university in the country.
Piliyandala have gifted Sri Lanka many notable people such as, Sri Jhon Kothalawala, MP Somaweera Chandrasiri, cricketer Hashan Thilakarathna, singer Kalhari.
Demographics.
Piliyandala is a Sinhala majority area; there are minor communities belonging to other ethnic groups, such as the Moors and Tamils.
Religion.
Piliyandala has a number of Buddhist religious places which follow the teachings of the Theravada school, including:
Piliyandala also has a number of churches, including:
Piliyandala Vesak Thorana.
The narration of Jātaka tales has been developed into Thoran tradition which is unique to Sri Lankan Buddhist culture. Continuing this iconic tradition, in Vesak season of Sri Lanka, an electrically lit pandol which is famous as Piliyandala Thorana is erected in front of the Piliyandala Central College. In these pandols, each scene of a selected Jataka tale will be boarded with different colored lights which created attractive patterns and sequence of different lighting patterns was electronically programmed.
Piliyandala Thorana is usually accompanied by singing or reciting the story in verses and they are in the special form of poetry reciting or singing which is known as “viridu”; and certain thorana is accompanied by dialog in addition to the reciting. Piliyandala Thorana is sponsored by local donors, religious societies and mainly organized by "Vaishakya Pujothsava Kamituwa" of Piliyandala.
Infrastructure.
Health.
Divisional Hospital - Piliyandala (which was established as a Maternity Home in 1939) is a type - B divisional hospital belongs to Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medicine, Sri Lanka. Currently the hospital offers dental clinic, family health clinic, medical clinic, mental health clinic, ante natal clinic, baby clinic, well women clinic, family planning clinics, skin clinic, Direct Observation Treatment (DOT) for TB unit and laboratory services.
Transportation.
Two major roads run through of Piliyandala. The road connecting Colombo and Horana, known as the 120 bus route and the road connecting Mount Lavinia and Kottawa (the 255 bus route). In addition, a new bypass road named Piliyandala Bypass Road was built in 2015 connecting Piliyandala and Kesbewa Junction. The beaches of Mount Lavinia are a 15-30 minute drive away from Piliyandala. There are other bus routes from Maharagama to Piliyandala, Bandaragama to Pilyandala(the 162 bus route). The Kahatuduwa Interchange, which is located between Polgasowita and Gonapola towns on Colombo - Horana (120) Road, connects the Piliyandala to the Southern Expressway.
Bus Routes travelling via Piliyandala
Bus Routes terminating at Piliyandala