To revive the tradition of cycling, promote eco-friendly transport, two Puneites will give the city its first hi-tech cycle mall this Republic Dayu00a0 u00a0 This Republic Day, the city will take the first step towards reclaiming the epithet 'city of cycles' that it used to hold in the 1960s with the launch of a hi-tech cycle mall. Puneites Manish Sabde and Ulhas Joshi will launch Guardian Cycle Mall, which they claim is the first-of-its kind in India, at Abhinav College Chowk at Tilak Road. Sabde, CEO of Guardian Holidays and an investor in the project, said, "We want to bring back the tradition of cycling and promote eco-friendly transport. We will display cycles from different countries, as we want to make our mall a place for the younger generation to learn about cycles in a fun way." Plans are also on to organise weekend cycling holidays and an annual cycle marathon. Ulhas Joshi, partner in the project, said more than 1,000 expensive cycles are ridden on the city roads. Added Sabde, "The trend has caught on with young professionals, who love to ride hi-tech cycles on weekends. Merida, Trek, and Giant ranging from Rs 30,000 to Rs 1.50 lakh, are the popular ones." A way of life The mall may be a new idea for the city, but Pune is no stranger to cycles. According to Nachiket Patwardhan, founder-president, Parisar, an environmental NGO there are around 8 lakh cycles in the city. "Nearly 18 per cent of Puneites, including school children, ride a cycle to their destination," he said. Added noted historian Dr M P Mangudkar, "In 1965, cycle population reached its peak of 2 lakh, even though the total population of the city was hardly 10 lakh."u00a0 Dr Shirish Patwardhan, who rides a cycle on a daily basis, said, "The mall is a good idea, as people wish to buy the cycles, but don't have access to them. I would definitely buy one and do my bit to promote the cycle movement in the city."

To revive the tradition of cycling, promote eco-friendly transport, two Puneites will give the city its first hi-tech cycle mall this Republic Day 

Pedalling city's cycling custom

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Pedalling city's cycling custom

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