World Cup 2014: Rains bother Brazilians as the country readies itself for the kick-off

RIO DE JANEIRO: It rained in Rio de Janeiro on the eve of the World Cup. Cariocas, the term for people from Rio, hope the rain stays away once the Copa do Mundo kicks off. When it rains, the streets of Rio are emptier than usual. “Cariocas are fond of sunshine, the rain doesn’t suit us,” say locals.

Maracana stadium is built near a river basin. The stadium is actually named after the river and the area often floods during the rains.

“The government is banking on sunny weather for the World Cup. It is building a highly sophisticated drainage system for the area, but the project isn’t complete yet,” explains Amit Bhaya, a professor at the city’s federal university as he drives through a freeway that connects the pub-lined downtown Rio to the Copacabana.

The wiper beats away large raindrops, as Bhaya, an Indian citizen who has lived in Rio for 25 years, points to a board that warns in Portuguese — “this area is subject to implosions and explosions”. “The government plans to replace these old mills and factories with new office buildings and complexes,” he says.

Several new structures have sprung up over the past few years. Over the past six months, the route from suburban Rio to the Copacabana has changed completely.
“ The government destroyed a freeway that connected the suburbs to Copacabana because they deemed it too ugly,” Bhaya says.