Dimna Road, the gateway to the steel city from NH-33, has once again turned into an eyesore.

For more than a fortnight now, residents and shopkeepers are dumping garbage in the open, thanks to absence of municipal vats along the nearly 4km stretch.

“We are helpless. Where do we dispose of our daily leftovers if the Mango Notified Area Committee (MNAC), which is responsible for civic upkeep, removes all the trash cans? Most of these were removed before Durga Puja. There is no trace of the bin outside our apartment,” complained S. Tiwary, a resident of Uday Aakash Tower.

The stink mounds are posing serious health threats to both residents and commuters. Homemaker Aditi Mandal of Madhusudan Complex couldn’t agree more. “The civic body should either collect garbage from our doorstep or ensure vats are in place,” she said.

The situation aggravated on Dimna Road after unidentified people burnt the trash and the flames leaped up to overhead cables on Sunday.

“Last night, I was commuting through Dimna Road when I saw a garbage mound burning near the Blue Bells School. There was no one around to douse the flames. What if the overhead cables caught fire? Who would be responsible?” asked Anand Mohan, a resident of nearby Post Office Road.

Special officer of MNAC Rajendra Gupta admitted the problem, but insisted that they had begun a paid door-to-door garbage collection service in the whole of Mango, which has a population of over 2 lakh.

“Providing dustbins or vats is not a viable solution. Cleaning them on a daily basis is a cumbersome job. We have begun a doorstep service. Residents should pay the nominal amount and avail the service,” he said.