Lucknow, Jul 15 (IANS): Hardoi, about 110 kilometres from Lucknow, has remained a nondescript district for years.

Its only claim to fame has been Sandila, a small town, that is famous for its 'laddoos' and is about 60 kilometres from Lucknow.

However, Sandila is now on its way to becoming a major business hub with Webley & Scott, Pepsi, British Paints, Berger Paints and Haldiram setting up their factories here.

According to the government spokesman, the UP government has received investment proposals worth over Rs 6,000 crore for setting up various industries in Sandila, of which projects worth Rs 5,000 crore have already got off the ground.

Webley & Scott has set up its maiden manufacturing plant at a cost of Rs 100 crore.

Similarly, Berger Paints Limited is setting up its factory on 35 acres of land at the cost of about Rs 850 crore. As many as 2,500 people will get employment in this factory of Berger Paints, which will start producing various types of paints by April, 2022.

British Paints Limited, a well-known company of England, has also started construction of its unit over 10 acres of UPSIDA land at the cost of Rs 150 crore. A total of 600 people will get employment in this factory, which is scheduled to start production next year.

According to the officials of the Industrial Development Department, other prominent investors that are setting up their plants at Sandila include, Green Ply Company, Austin Plywood Company, Gang Industries Ltd, Varun Beverages Limited, ITC Limited, Hindustan Food Limited, Haldiram and pharmaceutical firm Swarup Chemicals.

Green Ply Company is setting up its unit on 35 acres of land at the cost of Rs 600 crore and is expected to start production in July, 2022.

Similarly, Austin Plywood Company is establishing its factory at the cost of Rs 50 crore and will provide employment to 500 people.

Gang Industries Ltd is setting up its distillery plant over 25 acres of land at the cost of Rs 250 crore and will provide employment to 700 people once completed.

Varun Beverages Limited is setting up a factory at Sandila over 100 acres of land with an investment of Rs 700 crore to produce cold drinks, juices, etc in association with Pepsi. Around 2000 people will get employment in this factory.

Besides, ITC Limited is setting up its factory to produce flour, juice, chips, etc over 60 acres with an investment of Rs 800 crore and will give employment to 1,000 people.

Haldiram is also setting up its unit on five acres at a cost of about Rs 50 crore and will offer job opportunities to 250 people.

Hindustan Food Limited is also setting up its factory at Sandila at the cost of Rs 100 crore.

Apart from this, land has been acquired for the pharma unit of Swarup Chemical and the construction of the factory is expected to start soon.

With these factories being set up in Sandila, the town will soon emerge as a prominent industrial town and move beyond just laddoos.