President of the Mumbai Autorickshaw Taximen's Union, Shashank Sharad Rao, doesn't mince words when it comes to the issue of illegal autorickshaws in the city. Speaking to mid-day about how tens of thousands of such vehicles have infested Mumbai, he said, "We are aware of the issue of illegal autos and have been continuously warning authorities. When we complained in 2012, there were about 20,000 such autos and now the number must have gone up to 30,000."

Rao said, "These vehicles are basically autorickshaws assembled from discarded units, and they run without permits or badges. We have been continuously writing letters to authorities since 2012 about such autos, and about them operating in Bandra, Kurla and other areas in the city."