Sri Lankan government has lauded Prime minister Narendra Modi's initiative of "Swatchh Bharat Abhiyan' to improve sanitation in the country and get rid of open defecation. <br/><br/>Inaugurating the 10th South Asian Conference on Sanitation (SACOSAN) Inter Country Working Group Meeting in Colombo today, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem said the PM's programme specifically targets to provide sanitation facilities to 300 million people in two years which is an immense challenge but is being achieved. The minister said that his country has also made innovations in providing sanitation facilities to traditional communities which can be emulated by others.<br/><br/>He also announced the setting up of a regional centre for SACOSAN in Colombo to act as knowledge and networking centre for South Asian countries. Representatives from the SAARC region, UNICEF and World Bank etc. are participating in the three-day conference.