A Georgetown resident is in a critical condition in the New Amsterdam hospital after being shot on Sunday afternoon during an after-Mash party on Main Street, the town's main thoroughfare.

According to the police, Carl Marks, formerly of Locaber, West Canje Berbice was shot in the left abdomen by another man with whom he had an altercation. The alleged assailant, a former resident of Savannah Park, New Amsterdam who now lives in the city, is in police custody assisting with investigations.

The shooting, which occurred at around 5.30 pm in the vicinity of Chapel Street, and several robberies caused the police to shut down the numerous music sets just after 7 pm.

As early as 10 am entertainment-starved Berbicians began to congregate around the eight large music sets and make-shift bars positioned between Pope and St Ann streets on Main Street. Unlike recent years, the festivity this year was enhanced with the presence of floats and costume bands from outside the region. These included floats from Region Four, Ministry of Culture Youth and Sports, Ministry of Home Affairs and Region Six and costume bands sponsored by Carib Cash, Comforting Hearts (an NGO) and the Fire Service, among others.

Braving broiling midday sunshine, thousands of colourfully dressed men, women and children lined Main Street for hours awaiting the procession of floats and bands.

However, there was some disappointment for those who participated in the floats and bands and the revellers who flounced behind them when they arrived at the Esplanade Park where they were met with locked gates. They had hoped to enter the park for a final parade before dispersing. Stabroek News understands that the gates were locked by a promotion group which had rented the ground from the Town Council for a party later in the evening. The revellers, floats and bands were forced to disperse at that point some time around 4 pm.

By this time Main Street between Kent Street and St Ann Street was jammed to capacity with little walking room. This year there were not as many booths as in previous years and some complained about the cost of renting a spot and the uncertainty of recouping their investments.

The mostly young crowd was concentrated in the vicinity of booths operated by Banks DIH and DDL, the two major beverage producers. And most of the space rented was occupied by vendors peddling beer and other alcoholic beverages to even minors. One youngster seen drinking a beer was asked his age. "Twelve- years," was his reply. He was a first form student at a New Amsterdam secondary school.

There have been repeated calls for the observance to be held on February 23, and not one week later. The consideration is that over the years most of the criminal activity and violent incidents have been perpetrated by persons from outside the region. Apart from this many argue that Berbicians are creative and innovative enough to put together their own floats and costumes on February 23, where designers could compete for prizes instead of waiting one week in the hope that a few floats already paraded in Georgetown may travel to New Amsterdam.

Proponents of this view point out that this was done successfully in the past by Berbicians on the anniversary's actual date. They note that the observance has now become one big lewd street party with emphasis mainly on the consumption of alcohol and the exhibition of smutty dance forms.

Meanwhile, the main thoroughfare yesterday was littered with garbage and broken bottles following the previous day's fete. The cash-strapped Town Council with its limited resources will have an uphill task in clearing the area over the next few days.