AMAZON ROAD
(N.Z.P.A.-Reuler) RIO DE JANEIRO. Contracts have been signed to begin construction of a road across the hostile Amazon basin. Specialists in Indian affairs will travel with construction teams into the low-lying, heavily-wooded jungles to attempt to pacify savage Indians long isolated and considered aggressive. The contracts, signed in Rio de Janeiro, cover the first 625 miles of the planned highway, which, when completed, will run 1250 miles, going east to west. There will also be a trunk road roughly 625 miles in length, running north-south, with several feeder roads.
Some 29 Indian villages are thought to be on the planned route—belonging to the Parakana, Ara, and Assurini tribes. Nine of the villages have lived in complete isolation, according to officials, while 12 have been in saporadic contact with the outside world. The Amazon is cut by the equator. Construction teams will face intense heat, huge reptiles, fast-flowing rivers, and swamps.
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Press, Volume CX, Issue 32391, 2 September 1970, Page 19
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152AMAZON ROAD Press, Volume CX, Issue 32391, 2 September 1970, Page 19
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