Aurangabad: Under its ambitious waste management plan, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation dug compost pits. However, lack of staff, poor supervision and absent segregation of waste meant the compost pits have become dumping points, with unsegregated waste gathering in them. Now, with the rains, the likelihood of mosquitoes breeding in the area is also high. The closure of Harsul Sawangi and Chikalthana processing sites add to the mounting waste worries of the people of the city, who now face a health hazard.In mid-February, as waste disposal in the city became a crisis, residents and civic activists expressed apprehension over the waste management situation, which they said would worsen with the coming of the monsoon.Asked about the compost pits being left open and exposed to rainwater, state urban development department principal secretary Manisha Mhaiskar, during a visit to the city in March, said the municipal corporation would build shades over the windrow platforms or pits used for composting.The civic body did indeed construct the shades at several locations. However, as garbage was not segregated at source and staff continued to receive mixed waste, it was dumped in compost sites.A source said the current condition of compost pits is due to insufficient sanitation workers and absence of monitoring. “In order to properly manage a composting site, one has to use culture, turn the waste regularly and ensure that mixed waste is not dumped over it. Though clear directions are given from the head of the solid waste management department, there is not enough supervision and there are also not enough people to take care of all the tasks involved in composting. That’s why the mess,” the source said.Asked whether such a dump-yard did not increase chances of mosquito-borne illnesses like malaria, district malaria officer Anil Patil said mosquito breeding happens in minimum 100-200 ml water stagnant for 8-10 days. If the waste is lying for more than a week and it has scope of water collection, mosquitoes can lay eggs in it. To break this breeding, insectides or larvacides can be thrown over the waste,” Patil said.Residents are worried about the mound of garbage that lies near their homes. AMC however says it cannot do much with the mixed waste. “With two if the three central processing sites closed, we have no place to take the garbage to,” AMC city engineer Sakharam Panzade said.

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