India, Dec. 8 -- Pune's push to brand itself as a cycling city is falling flat, with a new Parisar audit, released on Saturday, revealing that only 11% of the city's cycle tracks are in "good" condition. The assessment of 35 km across 19 roads, done from September to November, shows widespread gaps in safety, comfort and continuity.

Parisar is a city-based non-government organisation (NGO) focused on sustainable development, especially urban transport, road safety, heritage, and environment.

The findings come at a time when Pune is trying to project itself as a global cycling destination through the annual Pune Cycle Grand Challenge. However, the city's on-ground infrastructure remains far from capable of supporting a serious cycling cu...