Collector turns counsellor for couples

HAJIPUR: When he is not into administrative works, he is into sweetening sour relationships. For reasons unknown, Vaishali DM H R Srinivas'' office frequently receives quarrelling couples. And the IAS officer doesn''t disappoint them. Counselling estranged couples, he says, comes naturally to him though he is not successful always.
Cases related to dowry deaths and domestic harassment have become the order of the day and hardly a day passes when no case of dowry is filed in the district.Alarmed at the growing incidents of crime against women, Srinivas thought it wise to play the guardian angel.
"Making estranged couples see eye-to-eye is a tough task as it requires ensuring a complete change of heart," the DM told ToI recently, admitting he at times feels jittery when the wife refuses to budge from her stubborn demands like living separately from parents-in-law.
"Many cases related to crime on women turn out to be fabricated ones," he said and stressed the need to start a social awareness campaign with the help of elected panchayati representatives to put a check on this unhealthy trend.
The DM recalled how he failed miserably while counselling a couple from Bhagwanpur recently. "I spent hours together for two days with them but the wife returned adamant on her demand for separation from husband''s parents and brothers," he rued.
However, more than ten cases related to marital discord have been settled by the DM and he is still counting. "Cracks in conjugal life develop due to generation-gap between woman and their in-laws. In most cases, women are not expelled from the house; they themselves prefer to run away," the DM said, adding he behaves like an elder brother and friend while counselling.
Srinivas has also instructed officers-in-charge of police stations in the district to inform him whenever matrimonial discord or dowry-related cases are lodged. "I will try my best to sort out their problems and if I fail, I will ask them to do whatever they want to do with their life," the DM said.