Loose lines

• Sir - It is alarming that a man was able to get past multi-layered security at the convocation ceremony of Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan to reach the dais on which the prime minister, Narendra Modi, was present ("Man breaks PM cordon for photo", May 26). He even managed to touch Modi's feet and hand him a picture of Rabindranath Tagore. The prime minister of Bangladesh and the chief minister of West Bengal had also been present on that dais a few minutes before the security lapse. Do the authorities not realize the serious nature of the incident? The matter must be probed and action taken against those responsible for the breach.

Sanjit Ghatak,
South 24 Parganas

Poorly done

• Sir - The manner in which the Kolkata Knight Riders played throughout in the recently-concluded edition of the Indian Premier League, as well as the way they lost, deserve strident criticism. The performances were inconsistent and many of the players had a flippant attitude. They rarely inspired confidence in their fans. The team lacked assertive leadership and a cohesive, strategic approach. Individual team members played according to their own will rather than in keeping with the demands of the match. It was appalling to witness such a lack of responsibility.

It seems that the players are given too much of a free rein. The captain, Dinesh Karthik, shied away from being strict with his teammates. The fact that KKR moved to the play-offs proved that the team had the potential to win the tournament; however, that potential was not exploited properly. Karthik's inability to be a strong leader meant that individual players were left to their own devices, and failed to take the right decisions in critical situations. When Gautam Gambhir was the captain of KKR, he was far more demanding. The team won the tournament twice under his captaincy.

There was neither a hint of innovative field placements, nor any bowling in the right areas in the power play or death overs. KKR's batting reflected a lack of planning; whenever the team batted second, its shot selection was poor. The decision to chase in the all-important semi-final match against the Sunrisers Hyderabad was surprising, given that the latter had the best bowling attack, and had successfully defended low scores earlier in the tournament. Moreover, as a match progresses, the wicket tends to slow down a bit, making chasing difficult when important wickets are lost. One hopes that KKR will not repeat this lackadaisical performance next year.

Suman Mitra,
Calcutta

Too low

• Sir - Children are especially susceptible to infection. Thus, the preparation of their meals and the cleaning of utensils in which the meals are cooked require hygienic conditions and hard work. However, nearly 25 lakh mid-day meal cooks, most of whom are poor widows or single women, are paid only Rs 1,000 a month, for 10 months a year ("Honorarium blow to midday meal cooks", May 24). It is shameful that the people who feed the future citizens of our country are so poorly paid.

A request for increasing the honorarium, made by the human resources development ministry's school education department, was rejected by the HRD minister, Prakash Javadekar. Ironically, the Union cabinet takes no time to increase the salaries of legislators, many of whom even have criminal records.

Sukhamay Biswas,
Calcutta

Parting shot

• Sir - Many Calcuttans are being penalized for traffic violations they did not commit. A few days ago, I received a message informing me that I had violated a traffic rule in an area in Behala. Funnily, I have never been to that place in my life. Neither has my vehicle.

On another occasion, I got a message that I had crossed the line on Park Street while the signal was red. In reality, the signal was green. How, then, could it have been a violation? There are certainly some major problems in the system that records traffic violations. Why else should so many people get wrong messages?

Irshad Ali,
Calcutta