CHENNAI: In a surprising move, the Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board (TNSCB) has taken it upon itself to play counsellor to mother-in-law and daughter-in-law squabbles at the Navalur and Perumbakkam resettlement sites with its ‘Maamiyar Marumagal’ week.
The programme that began this month at Navalur has a week-long counselling session for mothers-in-law called ‘Maanbumigu maamiyarkal vaaram’ (Honourable mothers-in-law week). This is followed by a week for daughters-in-law where they are counselled on maintaining cordial relations with each other and avoiding ego-clashes, according to a Slum Clearance Board official.
However, residents said there were more pressing concerns at hand. At the Navalur resettlement colony, which consists of 2048 houses, many residents were resettled from Annanagar and Aminjikarai areas. With around a 50-kilometre distance between their earlier residences and the site of resettlement, residents are left to find work from scratch.
On asked if the decision to conduct the programme stemmed from complaints from residents of constant fights within the family, the official said that it received no such complaints so far.
G Banumathi, who attended the Mothers-in-law week told Express, “They asked us what problems we were facing with our daughters-in-law. The situation quickly turned to people complaining about the lack of jobs here at Navalur which forced them to depend on their sons for food and in turn, created problems with their daughters-in-law.”
Banumathi, who was relocated to Navalur from Annanagar said that she ran a petty shop at both places. However, at Annanagar the number of customers she had was higher and so was her income, she said. “I could stay only for a little while. I had to get back to my shop here because I cannot afford to lose business,” she added.
The programme is funded under Chennai Rivers Restoration Trust (CRRT) and is conducted with the help of NGOs.
“The programme has already been completed in Perumbakkam and now, we have taken it up at Navalur,” said a slum clearance board official.
Rani, a participant at the daughters-in-law week said, “They asked us to treat our mothers-in-law like our mothers. At our home, we have no such problems, but for some others, the officials there offered to go to their homes and reconcile.”