Preparations are underway for the annual community fishing festival at Deepor Beel, Guwahati, scheduled for January 4. Local fishing communities are readying their equipment for the traditional mass fishing event, organized by the Deepor Beel Paspara Cooperative Society. The society aims to protect the wetland and preserve traditional fishing rights for approximately 800 Scheduled Caste fishing families who depend on the beel for their livelihood. Fish fingerlings are released annually, with fishing permitted after a six-month gap, starting with this New Year event.