After school children, priests of temples in Tamil Nadu would now get free bicycles to commute to the shrines, particularly in rural areas.

The priests of temples coming under the administration of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments department would get the BIS standard bicycle, HR and CE Joint Commissioner Sudarsan said here today.

The state government is already providing bicycles free of cost to higher secondary students of aided and government schools.

Sudarsan said funds mobilised under the "Oru Kala Pooja" scheme would be utilised to provide bicycles to the priests. The scheme was being implemented to help financially poor rural temples, which cannot even perform rituals once in a day, to conduct one time pooja.