Katugastota
| Katugastota | |
|---|---|
| suburb | |
|
Tri Sinhala Seemaramaya Katugastota,The division point of Thun Sinhale. | |
| Country | Sri Lanka |
| Province | Central Province |
| District | Kandy District |
| Time zone | Sri Lanka Standard Time (UTC+5:30) |
Katugastota (Sinhala: කටුගස්තොට) is a suburb of the city of Kandy in Kandy District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is located along the Kandy-Kurunegala high way approximately 4 kilometers from Kandy city centre. The suburb has shown rapid development in the past 4 years along with the completion of the Kandy-Kurunegala high way and the new Katugastota Bridge. It would be fair to tell she is growing at a faster phase than her mother Kandy which is the capital of Central Province.
This suburb although lacks a bus stand has plenty of buses going through it as a result of its location between Kandy and many other populous cities and villages. Buses could be seen starting from as early as 5 am to about 10 pm.
History
According to the histories, Sri Lanka has been divided into three parts well known as Ruhunu, Maya and Pihiti, with each of them divided into kingdoms, provinces and districts as per the 'Tun-Sinhale proposal'. And Katugastota was the center point of Sri Lanka. Three Sinhala Seemaramaya with the famous 18 riyan statue of Lord Buddah is still there to show the division point.
Shopping
The closest super market to the town is Cargills Food City located approximately 1.5 km from the suburb. The Satosa outlet is known to provide low priced food but their service and quality of food is questionable.
Food and bakery
There are many shops in the suburb that sell cooked food and bakery items. The Royal Food Court is perhaps the best known for rice and curry while the Bread Shop in Katugastota (located in front of the St. Anthony’s Girls College) is best known for bakery products.
Vegetables
Katugastota Retail Vegetable Market is most popular for fresh vegetables, Meat & fish.#https://plus.google.com/103214035990467094653/photos. And some vegetable stores are located along the main roads which nearly all of them lack parking space. Vegetables are supposed to be cheap in the stalls but supermarkets such as Cargills seem to give competition with reduced prices. The Royal Pharmacy and the Harcourts Pharmacy located near the St. Anthony’s Girls College both have vegetable sellers located in the parking lots that have vegetable advisable for patients. Anyone could park their vehicle in the park and purchase vegetables.
Clothes
The best clothes store close to Katugastota is the Fashion Bug branch located approximately 2 km form the suburb towards Kandy city centre. There are many small stores selling clothes in Katugastota but little or no information is available about them at the moment. The Hameedia branch in Kandy seems to be the preferred store for quality garments for special occasions.
Vehicles
The Katugastota road of kandy, features over two dozen automobile dealer shops and also the DPMC branch that sells Bajaj bikes. Most of the vehicles for sale are second hand reconditioned vehicles imported from Japan.
Health care
Hospitals
Katugastota lacks a major health care centers. The Katugastota Hospital is also not the best it could be. But been only 4 km from Kandy which hosts a variety of medical facilities there lies little necessity for a major hospital in Katugastota. The only hospital that is arguably a private hospital in Katugastota is the Kandy Private Hospital (KPH). KPC is located approximately 2.5 km from the Katugastota towards Kandy city centre. It provides both out patient, specialist channeling services and residential treatment facilities. Although you might be able to find channeled specialists in Katuagstota sometimes it is advisable to seek medical care from Kandy.
Pharmacies
There are many pharmacies in Katugastota where most would not give medicine without prescription. These pharmacies provide most if not all the medicine a doctor would prescribe.
Local and other medication
There are many Eastern medical practitioners in Katugastota. A practitioner from Kurunegala comes to Gohagoda road in a place near the Ambalama. An Islamic medical practitioner visits a location in Gohagoada Road and cures medical conditions using powers and has cured cancers and many other serious illnesses using the power of religion and prayer.
Investment and financial
Government banks
You would find a wide selection of banks in Katugastota. The Bank of Ceylon and the Peoples Bank are the two government banks located in the town. The Peoples Bank is located in the Kandy-Kurunegala high way. The Bank of Ceylon Katugastota branch is located in the Madawala Road. The general issue that government banks are not efficient applies in Katugastota too. The Bank of Ceylon – Katugastota branch ATM receives a lot of complaints that it is out of cash most of the time, especially on Sundays and bank officials asking people to go to other banks.
Private banks
There is a wide selection of both private and public banks in Katugastota right in the town. The Sampath Bank, Commercial Bank, Seylan Bank and DFCC bank are the private banks in Katugastota. The Sampath bank is located in Madawala road approximately 100 m from the Bank of Ceylon bank. The DFCC Bank is located right before the DFCC bank and the Seylan bank is located in Kandy-Kurunegala highway approximately 200 m from the Katugastota Bridge before St. Anthony’s Girls College.
Real estate
There are no known or very little surveys done about real-estate in the city and its nearby localities. Unconfirmed sources say the perch of land in the area could fetch approximately a million rupees each. In terms of an investment real-estate in the region is a viable candidate. With the improving living conditions in the city prices of land is expected to rise. The land price along Gohagoda Road could be taken as an example. Few years ago, land beyond the 1 km mark of the Gohagoda Road was cheap. But now it is showing rapid growth.
Special precaution need to be taken if a property is to be purchased in and around Gohagoda Road as the Kandy Garbage Dump is located approximately 1 – 1.5 kilometers from the Sigiri Theatre at Katugastota (the beginning of the road). This massive garbage dump is known to emanate a stench that is reported to be felt way beyond the Katugastota town depending on wind conditions. But its effects are considered to be far serious as causing health complications.
For some properties that are on rent and sale in the Katugastota area : *Properties for Sale/Rent in Katugastota (Kandy District)
Schools
There are many schools in Katugastota. St. Anthony's college is the most popular among them. Some of the schools located within the Katugastota are as follows.
Climate
Situated in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Katugastota generally enjoys a cooler and comfortable climate. But in time a gradual reduction of rain and increase in temperature has been noticed.
See also
- List of towns in Central Province, Sri Lanka. The world popular school St Anthonys College is situated at Katugastota. It's One of the best schools In Sri Lanka.
External links
Coordinates: 7°20′N 80°37′E / 7.333°N 80.617°E