09 March,2011 07:38 AM IST | | Agencies
More than 200 people have been arrested during Rio's Carnival that is under way for relieving themselves in the street, underlining authorities' determination to clean up the city that will be host to the 2016 Olympic Games.
"Two hundred and fourteen people have been arrested over the weekend.... We are going to constantly fight those urinating in the street.
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Such a lack of respect for the city and its citizens in unacceptable," said official in charge of public order, Alex Costa.
The detentions follow on from last year, when authorities launched a campaign to stop the widespread practice of beer-swilling Carnival revelers most of them men answering the call of nature in doorways, between cars and other public areas.
In tandem with their 'Zero Tolerance for Pissing,' as the campaign is called, they have established portable toilets in many of the most popular areas. Authorities have promised to increase the number of portable toilets in the future.
