Now, Easier Access to Mandi’s Sacred Sites with the New ‘Mandi Darshan’ App

Mandi, April 22: In just three years since its establishment, Sardar Patel University (SPU) in Mandi is already seeing its students make significant strides in innovation and community service. A group of seven MCA students from the university, who earlier developed a navigation app for the 236 shops of Mandi’s iconic Indira Market, are now preparing to launch a new app—“Mandi Darshan”—aimed at making religious tourism more accessible in the city known as Chhoti Kashi (Little Kashi).

Developed with support from the Mandi Municipal Corporation, the Mandi Darshan app will guide users to various temples and religious sites around the city while also providing historical context and background information. Notably, the app is being developed on a modest budget of just ₹26,000.

During a presentation in the Mandi Municipal Corporation meeting on Monday, the students shared a prototype of the app. Following the presentation, the civic body approved the project and assured financial support for its completion.

Ashish Sharma, one of the student developers, explained that while many pilgrims and tourists visit Mandi’s revered temples, they often face challenges navigating the city due to a lack of clear directions. The app addresses this by offering guided routes using Open Street Maps and showcasing religious sites through immersive 360-degree views.

Mandi Mayor Virender Bhatt confirmed that the project has received official clearance and noted that in addition to temples, the app will also feature details on the city’s historic stepwells (bawdis). The students have been working on the project for several months and plan to officially launch the app within the next month.

All seven students—Ashish Sharma, Sahil, Ankit Thakur, Shivam Sharma, Mohit Thakur, Sourav Rana, and Bharat Prakash—are currently pursuing their MCA degrees in Computer Science and are developing the app under the university’s AI Robotics Club, Zeno Seven.

Before this, they successfully developed a navigation system for Indira Market and even installed a climate clock on the SPU campus. They are also working on a new project titled “Mera Auto”, modeled after Ola and Uber, to make local auto-rickshaw travel more convenient within Mandi city.

This initiative highlights the growing impact of student-led innovation in solving real-world problems and improving civic life in smaller towns.