'Auto'cra(c/z)y

We have heard of thieves and robbers in our lives. A thief is one who steals by stealth. But most of Chennaiites, atleast once in their lifetime would have voluntarily searched for such a thief and given him money!.. Its the auto-rickshaw driver. I might be harsh in branding them as such, but from my sample size i can be sure that it is truly representative of the population and a significant majority do fall under this title!.. My personal experiences have driven me to this extent! Some incidents which i would narrate now would corroborate my views!.. These guys completely exploit the situation whenever they find that we really need their service!..Once I had to shift some luggage to a place barely half a kilometer away. The auto driver demanded 20 bucks!.. considering the price of petrol as an upward estimnate of 50 bucks and the auto mileage at the lower estimate of 20 kmpl, half a km costs him 5 bucks!.. imagine a 300% margin! And when i argued , the justification he gave enraged me further!.. "Sir, I am not supposed to carry luggage!.. so i charge extra for that!"... If he shouldnt carry luggage( and I was unaware if that).. he should have denied me.. but fleecing like this gives a very bad impression and arouses hatred even among the most tolerant minds. They consider themselves to be completely indispensable and being backed by political bigwigs, roam around the city like 'dadas'!... These rob(b)in' hoods are notorious for their wonderful reasons of overcharging!.. Dont know the language, overcharge; Dont know the place, overcharge; Are old and cant argue, overcharge!.. I am ashamed of such behavior and hope that tomorrow would dawn better, but i doubt if it will!