Following the tragic incident in which a child fell to death from the balcony of a flat in Kochi, the officials concerned have cautioned parents residing in high-rises to take extra care to ensure the safety of their children.
Almost all high-rises stick to the norms as per the Kerala Municipality Building Rule (KMBR). Still the officials feel that frequent inspections should be conducted to ensure that the railings of the balconies are in good shape and not damaged.
“As per our knowledge, this is the first such incident to have happened in Kochi. This is a grim reminder to parents that they should never leave their children unattended,” said Fire and Safety Additional District officer Abdul Rahsheed.
On Thursday, Daya Abdul Kareem, a five-year old girl, lost her life after falling from the ninth floor of an apartment complex in Kochi. As per the initial observation, the railings of the balcony was displaced and the girl slipped through the gap. She was the daughter of Abdul Kareem, Pathanapuram and Jasmine. The incident happened when Jasmine had gone downstairs to send her elder daughter to school.
Daya’s body was buried at Pathanapuram Nadukkunnam Juma Masjid Khabarsthan on Friday.
The officials also warned parents that balconies should not be used as storage rooms since children are bound to climb on objects and fall down.
Meanwhile, CREDAI secretary J Paul Raj said the builders under the Association adhered to the Municipality building rules and that Thursday’s unfortunate incident was an isolated one.
As per Chapter 17 of the KMBR which deals with the safety provisions for high-rise buildings, each high-rise should have at least two staircases and the height of the handrail on the staircase shall not be less than 90 cm. If balusters are provided, no gap in the balusters shall be more than 10 cm wide. It further states that every slab or balcony overlooking any exterior or interior open space which are 2 metres above the ground shall be provided with parapet walls or guard rails of height not less than 1.20 metres and such guard rails shall be firmly fixed to the walls.