Patna, Aug 7 - The Bihar government has decided to cancel its plan for an online facility for Hindus to offer 'pind daan', a religious service seeking salvation for the dead from the cycle of rebirth, following stiff opposition from the priests who conduct the rituals in the holy town of Gaya.

'The government has decided not to launch the online facility,' said an official Friday after a high-level meeting to discuss the arrangements for the Pitrapaksh fair that begins Sep 3.

Thousands of Hindus from across India and abroad gather in Gaya, about 100 km from here, to offer 'pind daan' during the fortnight-long Pitrapaksh period.

In June, Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi had announced the government's decision to introduce a video-conferencing facility for Indians abroad for 'pind daan'.

However, the priests who have been conducting the rituals for centuries described the government's decision as 'interference' and an 'attack on an age-old religious service'.