Police open 4 roads but 10 still blocked

On Sri Ayutthaya Road, motorists can travel from the Army’s First Infantry Division Junction to Marble Temple Junction.
On Ratchawithi Road, vehicles are allowed near Parliament. Two other roads – Sukhothai and Ratchasima – are presently open for traffic too.
Some 50 traffic police have been deployed to facilitate traffic flow near Government House and Parliament.
Police had been concerned protesters may have a plan to seize or encroach on Government House or the Parliament. 
National police chief General Adul Sangsingkaew said part of the traffic jam was attributed to the surge of almost 2,000 protesters at Urupong. Organisers had expanded the rally site from three to eight tents and allowed vehicles to park, he said.
Newly arrived protesters came from Buri Ram, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Surat Thani, a police spokesman said.
Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said he was puzzled the government had tried to downplay the protests but at the same time appeared to overreact in security measures. Passers-by could see more policemen than protesters at Urupong, he said.
Meanwhile, protesters at Urupong had no plans to move to Government House at this point, organisers said yesterday. “Protesters will review the situation in the next few days before finalising their decision,” rally organiser Uthai Yodmanee said.
While most organisers and protesters from the Students and People’s Network for Thailand Reform want to relocate the rally to the seat of government, they would assess the situation before making such a move, he said.
The network is a splinter group of the People’s Army against the Thaksin Regime, which is leading the rally at Lumpini Park.
Uthai said protesters would not vacate Urupong even if the government extended security measures over to the rally site.
Enforcement of the Internal Security Act over the three Bangkok districts would continue until the October 18 deadline, deputy secretary general to the prime minister Thawat Boonfueng said. Police chief Adul would be in charge of recommending the ISA extension if it was deemed necessary, Thawat said.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said security authorities were assessing the situation before deciding whether to cancel or to continue the move.
Yingluck said the government had no intention to inconvenience Bangkok residents or motorists, and pledged to restore normalcy as soon as possible. She called on protesters to engage in talks to try to resolve political differences.