The Bihar government on Friday suspended 15 engineers in connection with a series of bridge collapses in the state, a senior official said.

The decision was taken after an inquiry committee submitted its report to the Water Resources Department (WRD).

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A total of ten bridges have collapsed in the districts of Siwan, Saran, Madhubani, Araria, East Champaran and Kishanganj in the past 17 days, officials said.

The report concluded that negligence on the part of engineers and inadequate supervision were the main reasons for the collapse of small bridges and causeways in the state, WRD deputy chief secretary Chaitanya Prasad told reporters here.

Four senior engineers are also among those suspended.

The Rural Works Department has also started blacklisting the contractor involved in the construction of the bridge in Araria district. The department has also stopped payments to the contractor/company for its previous work until the investigation is completed, said Dipak Kumar Singh, deputy chief secretary, Rural Works Department.

The department has also asked the officials concerned for an explanation regarding the collapse of the bridges in East Champaran on June 23 and Madhubani on June 26.

An investigation has already been ordered into the collapse of the RWD bridges in these two districts, Singh said.

Commenting on the bridge collapses, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav told reporters, “Why are the leaders of the NDA-led Bihar government, including Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, maintaining stoic silence? These incidents prove how widespread corruption is in the ruling government.”

The RWD portfolio, which builds most of the small bridges in the state, is always in the hands of the JD(U). “Who should be held responsible for this chaos?” asked the former deputy chief minister.

Reacting to Yadav's comments, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Union minister and founder of the Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), an alliance partner of the NDA, said the issue should not be politicised.

Our Prime Minister has already given strict instructions to the senior officials of the ministry to take tough action against those responsible, he said.

Chirag Paswan, leader of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), another NDA ally, added: “The NDA government in Bihar has taken the matter very seriously and action has been initiated against the erring officials and contractors.”