The festival, which formally begins on Monday, will continue for 15 days and the sacrificial ritual is carried out on November 28 and 29.

Officials claimed that the Indian Supreme Court order to some states to restrict animal export would lower the number of animals brought across the border.

Last month, the apex court of India issued an interim order to the Union of India and state governments of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal—from where a majority of the animals are transported—to check the animal outflow.

Organisers say almost 70 percent of a quarter of a million animals sacrificed during the festival are brought from the Indian states.

Besides, the Nepal government has implemented a plan of action to regulate the festival by setting up animal health inspection posts.

The local administration has deployed a task force to patrol the perimeter of the venue to ensure effective implementation of the plan. The task force will check haphazard transportation of animals into the site while the government has been creating awareness at the local level through public service announcements.

“The plan is to regulate the traditional ritual,” said Umesh Dahal, senior veterinary officer at the Livestock Department. Although national and international activists have been lobbying for a ban on animal sacrifice, the government has focused on the management of the religious event.

Hindu devotees from across the country and the Indian states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab and Haryana travel to Bara district to worship Goddess Gadhimai. The festival takes place every five years.

Organisers estimate that more than 5 million people will attend the festival this year. Ram Chandra Sah, chairman of the Gadhimai Festival Organising Committee, however, claimed that the number of animals sacrificed will not decline. “Nobody can stop devotees from coming here to worship,” he said. “It never happened in the past and nor will happen now.”

Preparations for the event  have been over. The organising committee has put up six tents—each big enough to hold 10,000 devotees who will be offered food and accommodation free of cost. Various local organisations have contributed to the fund.

As the temple does not have enough land for the festival, the committee leases it from local farmers.

According to committee secretary Motilal Kushwaha, more than 28 hectares is needed to accommodate eateries, shops, stalls, circuses and other entertainment activities during the festival.

Devotees start trickling into the temple on Monday, and the number of visitors grows by the day until the sacrifices end.