Garbage dumped on pavements or along roads, bins overflowing with no one to clear them and heaps of waste being set on fire — once a showpiece township, Salt Lake is now a picture of complete neglect in waste management.

A brief tour of the township on Monday showed that its waste management was in disarray.

Residents told Metro that despite complaints to the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, the accumulated garbage is either not removed or taken away for weeks.

A CJ Block resident alleged that the morning waste collection was becoming irregular and erratic, with the time of collection changing frequently and new waste collectors replacing former ones at regular intervals.

Piles of waste with plastics, packets of fast food and biscuits, earthen cups and Styrofoam plates, were spotted on the pavement next to a retail store in IB Block.

Shruti Singhi, 36, a resident of Phoolbagan, who came to the retail store on Monday, said whenever she came there she saw waste lying the pavement.

“Whenever I come here, I see waste accumulated outside on the pavement. We come to the retail store to buy fresh fruit and vegetables. The pavement outside a store selling fresh fruits and vegetables should not be so unhygienic,” said Singhi.

Metro found accumulated waste, whose volumes made it clear that they had not been removed for days, at CJ Block, HB Block, IB Block, FI island and on the pavement outside Karunamoyee Housing Estate.

In at least one place, the heap of garbage had been set on fire to reduce its volume.

The waste was dumped either on vacant plots, on pavements, outside under-construction buildings and on a less visited corner of a street. The waste, if left there for weeks, can also turn into breeding sites for mosquitoes if water accumulates.

Ramgopal Bera, 60, who runs a stationery shop at HB Block, said even after repeated complaints to the municipal officials no one bothers to take action.

“Whoever comes throws Styrofoam plates or plastics on the road and no one bothers to clear the area. We hardly see any cleaner from the corporation,” alleged Bera.

Poulami Patra, a resident of CJ Block, said residents were also to blame as many throw waste in public spaces.

But this was also a result of erratic waste collection of late, she said.

“In the last few weeks, the morning waste collection has become irregular. Also, the collectors keep changing frequently and the collection timing changes as well. Many people are out for office or other work if a waste collector comes late in the morning,” she said.

Metro also spotted a burning heap of garbage at FB Block on Monday afternoon. Mounds of waste had been set ablaze and thick smoke engulfed the neighbourhood.

A cleaner of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation who was working nearby said he did not know who set fire to the garbage heap.

“We have strict instructions from our councillor not to burn garbage. We come and dump it. We don’t know who has done this. We collect the garbage from streets and dump it here,” the cleaner said.

Bins with overflowing garbage were also spotted across Salt Lake.

A large bin near the FI Block island was overflowing with thermocol pieces lying scattered on the road surrounding the bin. Similar overflowing bins were spotted near Karunamoyee Housing Estate.

Krishna Chakraborty, mayor of the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation, denied that waste had accumulated in many places across Salt Lake.

“It is not true. We clear the waste regularly, but we have a problem in transporting the waste from Bidhannagar to Dhapa because of the long distance. Earlier, we used to dump the waste at Mollar Bheri but that had to be stopped under orders of the National Green Tribunal,” Chakraborty said.

“We bring the waste from all parts of Salt Lake to a few points. If we are not able to clear the entire volume, we put up view cutters,” she said.