Panaji, Mar 18 (IANS): Goa Governor Mridula Sinha has condoled the death of Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, who passed away at his private residence here on Sunday evening after a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 63.

Sinha said in a message: "As a political leader he had, in his own way, chartered a new approach to various problems and succeeded in resolving many of them by his sincere personality."

The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay, Parrikar's alma mater, also mourned the death of the four-time Goa Chief Minister. It said in a statement that the institute was "shocked" by Parrikar's demise.

"Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar's demise comes as a shock to all of us at IIT Bombay. He was the institute's distinguished alumnus and was keenly involved with many initiatives at IIT Bombay. He was also deeply involved with the launch of IIT Goa," the statement said.

Parrikar is the second Defence Minister to have served in a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition to have died in the last two months. Former Defence Minister George Fernandes, who served in the central cabinet headed by late Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, died on January 29 this year.

The condition of Parrikar had turned "extremely critical" on Sunday, the Chief Minister's Office tweeted earlier in the day.

His last rites will be held here on Monday evening, an official statement said.

A widower, Parrikar is survived by his sons Utpal and Abhijat, their wives and a grandson.