Widows cancel Holi celebrations in Vrindavan

Vrindavan:Hundreds of widows on Monday decided not to celebrate Holi this time to mourn sad demise of the Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar. 

Hundreds of widow sisters, mothers and people gathered at the historic Gopinath temple of Vrindavan and paid respect to the departed soul and offered condolences. Sulabh International had planned to organise Holi celebrations for widows.

To pay respect a prayer meeting was organised at the historic Gopinath temple where widows lid candles and chanted bhajans. 

"To mark the respect of the departed soul, we have decided not to celebrate Holi. All widows mourns the sad demise of our beloved leader and statesman" says Dr Bindeshwar Pathak , Social Reformer and founder of Sulabh International here. 

Vrindavan's Holi celebrations in recent years have become memorable for the thousands of widows, who till recent past used to face humiliation. But, their life changed for the better, when the Supreme Court intervened and asked NGO Sulabh International to take care of the widows waiting for death in despair, in the last stages of their lives.

In 2012, the Supreme Court of India expressed concern that the government and its agencies were not doing enough to mitigate the suffering of the widows of Vrindavan. 

There was reports by the National Legal Service Authorities (NALSA) that conditions in the government shelters of Vrindavan were so bad that when a widow died, her body was chopped into pieces and disposed of, as there was no money to pay for the funeral rites.(UNI)