<p>The 11-year-old boy who fell to death from the eighth floor of an apartment building on Sunday was at a window between two flats when the accident occurred.</p>.<p>Two <span class="italic">DH</span> reporters visited the building in Hoodi on Wednesday. Roy, the boy who lost his life, was a class 7 student. His parents, both software engineers.</p>.<p>Architects <span class="italic">DH</span> reporters spoke to said the brick wall at the window met the minimum height requirement of 1.2 m (about four feet). However, it had no grille on the top, and the window overlooked a drop of nearly 65 feet. </p>.<p>“Usually, in windows on the lower floors, grilles are fixed as an anti-theft measure, but not on the higher levels,” said an architect from a prominent construction firm in Bengaluru.</p>.<p>Residents said such windows, located between flats on all floors, are usually kept closed.</p>.<p>“The entire society is in shock and we can’t believe what happened. I can’t say the window is unsafe as the sill is high enough, but he may have been leaning out of the window or slipped,” said a resident.</p>.<p>It was past 8 pm and the children’s playtime had ended and no one was around when the boy fell. Security guards heard a thud and rushed to find Roy lying in a pool of blood. “Nobody is sure of the exact sequence of events,” a resident said.</p>.<p>Most modern residential and commercial complexes feature such ornamental windows, but without bars and metal grilles, they pose a safety risk, especially for children.</p>.<p>Many architects prefer glass or flimsier fibre glass to cover them, as metal grilles do not have the same aesthetic effect.</p>.<p>“It would help to assess the risks, and fix grilles to avoid such windows becoming a hazard to life and limb.”</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Aesthetics over safety</strong></p>.<p>Safety should be the priority but most builders choose aesthetics over safety.</p>.<p>“People go with aesthetic buildings now, giving least priority to safety. Most homes do not have grilles anymore and that’s why these accidents happen.</p>.<p>“This incident is not the first. Priority must be given to children’s safety. Grilles in a balcony and windows are a must to reduce the number of casualties,” said Vijay Kumar A, director of Adobe Builders. </p>.<p>The building Roy fell from has a fire escape and staircase, but he did not fall from there, as described in some reports.</p>
<p>The 11-year-old boy who fell to death from the eighth floor of an apartment building on Sunday was at a window between two flats when the accident occurred.</p>.<p>Two <span class="italic">DH</span> reporters visited the building in Hoodi on Wednesday. Roy, the boy who lost his life, was a class 7 student. His parents, both software engineers.</p>.<p>Architects <span class="italic">DH</span> reporters spoke to said the brick wall at the window met the minimum height requirement of 1.2 m (about four feet). However, it had no grille on the top, and the window overlooked a drop of nearly 65 feet. </p>.<p>“Usually, in windows on the lower floors, grilles are fixed as an anti-theft measure, but not on the higher levels,” said an architect from a prominent construction firm in Bengaluru.</p>.<p>Residents said such windows, located between flats on all floors, are usually kept closed.</p>.<p>“The entire society is in shock and we can’t believe what happened. I can’t say the window is unsafe as the sill is high enough, but he may have been leaning out of the window or slipped,” said a resident.</p>.<p>It was past 8 pm and the children’s playtime had ended and no one was around when the boy fell. Security guards heard a thud and rushed to find Roy lying in a pool of blood. “Nobody is sure of the exact sequence of events,” a resident said.</p>.<p>Most modern residential and commercial complexes feature such ornamental windows, but without bars and metal grilles, they pose a safety risk, especially for children.</p>.<p>Many architects prefer glass or flimsier fibre glass to cover them, as metal grilles do not have the same aesthetic effect.</p>.<p>“It would help to assess the risks, and fix grilles to avoid such windows becoming a hazard to life and limb.”</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><strong>Aesthetics over safety</strong></p>.<p>Safety should be the priority but most builders choose aesthetics over safety.</p>.<p>“People go with aesthetic buildings now, giving least priority to safety. Most homes do not have grilles anymore and that’s why these accidents happen.</p>.<p>“This incident is not the first. Priority must be given to children’s safety. Grilles in a balcony and windows are a must to reduce the number of casualties,” said Vijay Kumar A, director of Adobe Builders. </p>.<p>The building Roy fell from has a fire escape and staircase, but he did not fall from there, as described in some reports.</p>