Narammala නාරම්මල நாரம்மல
Town
Aerial view of Narammala
Nickname:  Ranpurawara (Golden Town)
Motto:  Keep moving forward (නොනැවතී ඉදිරියට)
Narammala
Coordinates: 7°26′4″N 80°13′17″E / 7.43444°N 80.22139°E / 7.43444; 80.22139
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	North Western Province
District	Kurunegala District
Established	1232 as Kingdom of Dambadeniya
Government
• Type	Pradeshiya Sabha
• Chairman	H.P.M. Parakrama Sampath Thilakarathne (SLPP)
Area
• Town	99.68 km2 (38.49 sq mi)
• Land	91 km2 (35 sq mi)
• Water	34 km2 (13 sq mi)
Highest elevation	163 m (535 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population  (2012)
• Town	56,279
• Density	493.7/km2 (1,279/sq mi)
• Urban	7,513
• Rural	48,766
Demonym	Narammalians
GDP
• Total	LKR 12 million US$ 38,850
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (Sri Lanka Standard Time Zone)
Postal Code	60100
Area code	+37
Website	http://narammala.ds.gov.lk/index.php?lang=en
Pradeshiya Sabha based in Narammala in collaboration with Wikipedia based in 1 Montgomery St., Suite 1600, San Francisco, CA 94104, United States

Narammala(Sinhala: නාරම්මල, romanized nārammala, Tamil: நாரம்மல, romanized Nāram'mala) is a major town in Sri Lanka, situated in the middle of the North Western Province, 85.3 km (53.0 mi) from Colombo via the Colombo - Katunayake Expressway or 54 km (34 mi) from Negombo via Mirigama-Nakalagamuwa Expressway. Narammala is connected to Sri Lankan transport network by Kurunegala-Colombo 5 road and Kurunegala-Negombo 34 road. Narammala is 74 km (46 mi) from Colombo and 18 km (11 mi) from Kurunegala. This beautiful town is surrounded by blocks of Paddy fields and Coconut estates. Narammala is the location of the world's first and only betel research lab and institute, which is located at Dampelessa, 3.5 km (2.2 mi) from the Narammala town centre.^{[citation needed]}

Narammala is the third largest population centre in Kurunegala district, being second to Kuliyapitiya and Kurunegala. In ancient times Narammala was called Dambadeniya. Which is still owned by the Narammala Divisional Secretariat.According to history, the tooth relic of Gautama Buddha was brought there with the establishment of Dambadeni kingdom. On the way to bring Sri Dantha Dhatu to the Dambadeniya Kingdom, at the place known as Narammala, the king offered a "Na" flower made of gold to the Tooth Relic. To commemorate the place where Ran Na Flower was offered, the place was called "Ran Na Mala" since then. Later, "Ran+Na+Mala" became "Na+Ran+Mala" for ease of use and became "Narammala" for ease of use. The Dambadeniya King's Palace is located about 9.3 km (5.8 mi) away from Narammala, in the Kingdom of Dambadeniya.^{[citation needed]}

Although Narammala is not a coastal town, its height (elevation) is 0 meters above sea level. Geologists point out that the city of Narammala is below the ground level compared to the cities of Kurunegala and Kuliyapitiya around the city of Narammala. The highest elevation here is 163 meters and the area is Panthanigoda village governed by Narammala Pradeshiya Sabha. According to the 2012 census, the population of Narammala is 56,279. Urban population is 7,513 and rural population is 48,766. The main export industry of this city is textile and ready-made garments. Many textile factories run by government and private institutions can be seen in Narammala area. Narammala Pradeshiya Sabha has confirmed that the finished garments produced in these factories are exported to Japan, USA, Germany, Australia, Singapore, India and United Kingdom.

The main cities connected with Narammala city are Kurunegala, Negombo, Giriulla and Colombo. The main foreign countries to maintain relations with are New York City and Las Vegas located in the United States of America, Manchester City located in the United Kingdom, Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya located in Japan, as well as Singapore City located in Singapore. The city of Narammala was founded by King Vijayabahu III. He also took steps to separate and develop this beautiful town which had been a solid part of the Dambadeniya area. Today, Dambadeniya is governed by the Narammala Pradeshiya Sabha.

Etmology

Narammala was named because of a Golden "Na" flower, which King Wijayabaku III offered to the tooth relic of buddha on it's way to the Kngdom of Damboderniya . In Sinhalese, a golden Na flower is called "Ran Na Mala". So, king Wijayabahu III named the place where he offered the golden Na flower that way. Some time later his majesty decided to separte "Ran Na Mala" from the Kingdom of Dambadeniya Which he did. The King Wijayababu III decided to devalop Ran Na Mala separately from Dambadeniya, Some time later Tha Ran Na Mala became Ran+Na+Malaand became Narammala(නාරම්මල)for ease of use.

There are three archaelogical cities around Naramamala, which are, Dambadeniya (දඹදෙණිය) Yapahana (යාපහුව) and Kurunegala (කුරුණෑගල). All of these cities have a historical value

People

Most people in Narammala town are Sinhalese and Muslims while most of the surrounding areas are inhabited by Sinhalese. People here use paddy cultivation as their major source of food. Narammala as the major town, fulfills needs of thousands of people living in small villages around it and so it is commercially and socially important.

History

In accordance to legends, history of Narammala starts when the Kingdom of Dambadeniya was established by King Vijayabahu III (1220AD-1236AD). After leaving the Kingdom of Polonnaruwa as a safety measurement for the kingdom and the Temple of the Tooth, King Vijayabahu III shifted to Dambadeniya. Since those days the name Narammala exists. According to history, as soon as kingdom of Dambadeniya was established the sacred tooth relic of Gautama Buddha was brought. On the way it was brought, the King offered a golden Naa [Ceylon Ironwood or rose chestnut (Mesua ferrea)] flower at the place which today is known as Narammala. In Sinhala, golden Naa flower is called Ran+Na+Mala(රන්+නා+මල), which then turned into 'Na+Ran+Mala (Sinhala: නා+රන්+මල) for the ease of pronunciation. Hence the name; Narammala.^{[citation needed]}

Transportation

Narammala is a central city in Sri Lanka. It is directly connected to a large number of major cities and towns of the island.

By road, it is connected to Colombo, Kandy, Matale, Puttalam, Trincomalee, Kurunegala, Negombo, Anuradhapura and Kegalle. Due to its status as a crossroads city, the city is a good base for exploring important ancient landmarks a short distance away.

The Narammala central bus stand, opened in 2014, is one of Sri Lanka's most efficient and modern bus stands, with a parking capacity of about 200 buses.

Under the directives of MoHEH, RDA has initiated a study to find out a suitable road corridor to construct the expressway from Kadawatha to Dambulla via Narammala under Central Expressway Project. The second stage of the construction of the Central Expressway Project (CEP Project-2) from Meerigama to Narammala was launched on 2017 February 1. Subsequently, the expressway will cross Gampaha, Meerigama, Narammala while ending at Dambulla. The project has been implemented in four stages; from Kadawatha to Mirigama (37 km), Mirigama to Kurunegala (39.28 km), Pothuhera to Galagedara (32.5 km) and Kurunegala to Dambulla (60.3 km). Expressway to Kurunegala was opened on 15 January 2022. Interchanges from Mirigama are Narammala, Dambokka, Kurunegala and Yaggapitiya. Public transport was launched on 20 January 2022 through expressway.

Education

There are several educational institutes in Narammala, which are listed below.

• Mayurapada Central College

• R/G Senanayaka National School

• Mayurapada Khanishta Vidyalaya, Narammala

• Gangegoda National School - Ganegoda, Narammala

• Meewewa National School - Meewewa, Narammala

• Aira Amarasekara National School - Panthanigoda, Narammala

• Karagahagedara Primary College - Karagahagedara, Narammala

• Lyceum International

• Narammala Primary School

• Ranawatta Primary School

• Kottapitiya Primary School

• Ruwangiri National School

• Sandeepa Pre-school (Negombo Road, Narammala)

• Nakkawatta National School

• D.B. Welagedara Central College (Malkaduwawa)