Sources said only 33.21 percent of families in the country had access to sanitary toilets in September 2003, but the figure rose to 66.85 percent in a span of over 26 months.

The LGRD ministry, which aims to bring every family under sanitation coverage by 2010, now sees a grand success of the national programme ahead of schedule.

"We have set our target for 2010, but now we are quite optimistic to reach the goal well ahead of schedule," LGRD and Cooperatives Minister Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan told BSS yesterday.

Bhuiyan said the nation has achieved the success without spending any extra money and donors' aid. The programme can be an example of self reliant initiatives, he added.

"A simple motivation can make a big difference. The national sanitation campaign is a glittering example of that," he said, adding that the government has just made the process easier and involved communities and local government bodies to make it successful.

The minister thanked people for the all out support and urged them to make the success sustainable. He also commended the role of the media and the FEJB in this regard.

The DPHE statistics show that a total of 1,43,01,524 families now using sanitary latrines compared to 71,06,141 families in August-September 2003.

The rural coverage has risen to 65 percent from 28.77 percent, municipality coverage increased to 76.72 percent from 53.10 percent, while city corporation coverage surged to 78.4 percent from 69.92 percent.