Guwahati: Preparations have started for the annual Ambubachi Mela at the revered Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati, with nearly a month left for one of the largest religious gatherings in northeastern India.

According to members of the temple’s Doloi community, the four-day festival will commence on the night of June 22, which coincides with the seventh day of the Assamese month of Ahaar. The mela will conclude at sunrise on June 26.

The Ambubachi Mela is observed annually at the Kamakhya Temple and draws lakhs of devotees, sadhus and tourists from different parts of the country. The festival marks the annual menstruation period of Goddess Kamakhya and holds deep spiritual significance among devotees of Shakti worship.

During the observance, the temple remains closed for three days and reopens on the final day after ceremonial rituals. Devotees traditionally gather in large numbers to receive the sacred prasad distributed after the reopening of the temple.

Authorities and temple management committees are expected to make elaborate arrangements for crowd management, security, sanitation, accommodation and transportation ahead of the festival.