New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) Hundreds of widows in Vrindavan on Monday decided not to celebrate Holi this time to mourn the sad demise of Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.

Parrikar died at his private residence in Panaji on Sunday after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.

Sulabh International had planned to organise Holi celebrations for the widows but it was deferred due to Parrikar's death. 

Scores of widows gathered at the historic Gopinath temple in Vrindavan on Monday to offer condolences and pay respect to the departed soul. The widows 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 the 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.