Vrindavan widows won't celebrate Holi 2019 to mourn Parrikar's death
Vrindavan widows won't celebrate Holi 2019 to mourn Parrikar's death Vrindavan widows won't celebrate Holi 2019 to mourn Parrikar's death
To mourn the death of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, hundreds of widows in Vrindavan on Monday decided to not celebrate Holi this year.
Parrikar died at his private residence in Panaji on Sunday after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.
He has been succeeded by BJP leader Pramod Sawant.
Meanwhile, Sulabh International had planned to organise Holi celebrations for the Vrindavan widows but it was canceled after Parrikar's sad demise.
On Monday, scores of widows gathered at the historic Gopinath temple in Vrindavan to offer condolences and pay homage to the departed soul.
They also held a prayer meeting at the temple where they lit candles and sang bhajans.
"To pay respect to the departed soul, we have decided not to celebrate Holi today. All the widows mourned the sad demise of our beloved leader and statesman Manohar Parrikar," said Bindeshwar Pathak, a well-known social reformer and founder of the Sulabh International.
Vrindavan's Holi celebrations in recent years have become a memorable event for thousands of widows who till recent past used to face humiliation.
In 2012, the Supreme Court expressed concern that the government and its agencies were not doing enough to mitigate the sufferings of the widows of Vrindavan and asked Sulabh International, an NGO, to take care of them.