Strange journey

Sir — Waking up in the middle of the night to see an unfamiliar station can be one of the most panic-inducing sights for a train traveller. The members of the European Parliament faced a similar situation recently when their train from Brussels to Strasbourg — the two seats of power of the European Union — was mistakenly rerouted to Disneyland in Paris. While some found humour in this incident, it exposed how needless the constant to-and-fro between the two cities is. If politicians want people to reduce their carbon footprint, they should lead by example and cut down unnecessary travel.

Abhishek Sinha, Mumbai

Unanswered queries

Sir — The Confederation of Ex-Paramilitary Forces Welfare Associations has decided to bring the Pulwama incident back into the spotlight (“Pulwama raises its head”, Oct 18). Forty soldiers from the Central Reserve Police Force had been killed in a surprise attack on a convoy in Pulwama a few weeks before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The incident had been politicised by the Bharatiya Janata Party to reap electoral benefits. However, four years hence, the Centre is yet to fix accountability for the lapses that led to the terror attack. The allegations of negligence levelled against the government by the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir, Satya Pal Malik, have also been ignored.

Jahar Saha, Calcutta

Minnows win

Sir — The Afghan cricket team deserves to be congratulated for its stunning win against England in the ongoing World Cup (“Afghans’ turn to stun England”, Oct 16). England lost the match by 69 runs owing to their poor batting, not to mention the numerous mistakes made by individual players. England’s batsmen failed to cope with the bounce and spin on the wicket, especially from bowlers like Rashid Khan and, in response to Afghanistan’s 284, were bundled out for 215.

Jayanta Datta, Hooghly

Sir — In the current edition of the cricket World Cup, two so-called underdogs, Afghanistan and the Netherlands, beat much-feted teams like England and South Africa. This shows that even underdogs stand a fair chance of winning the coveted trophy.

Avinash Godboley, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh

Sir — By beating South Africa in a rain-curtailed match, the Netherlands have shown that they cannot be written off as minnows (“Men in orange squash Proteas for gutsy win”, Oct 18). South Africa had been cruising along in the tournament with back-to-back centuries by their star batsman, Quinton de Kock, but were dealt a rude shock by the determined Dutch team, with the captain, Scott Edwards, playing a solid role. This will ensure that the Dutch are not taken for granted.

S. Kamat, Alto Santa Cruz, Goa

Name debacle

Sir — It is bewildering that Mohammed Farhan, a leader of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, has lodged a case against the Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi, for naming the puppy that he gifted his mother, Sonia Gandhi, ‘Noorie’ (“Rahul faces case over pup’s name”, Oct 19). The fact that the pup was introduced as the newest member of the family in a video on Rahul Gandhi’s YouTube channel is enough to show that he chose the name out of love for the creature. In no way can his action be termed as hurtful towards Muslim sentiments.

Sujit De, Calcutta

Sir — Rahul Gandhi’s ignorance about Islamic scripture has led him to name his pup ‘Noorie’. It is a holy word present in the Quran. No animal should be given this name.

Romana Ahmed, Calcutta