Jatti Umra (Tarn Taran), December 12
The dusty by-lanes of this nondescript village in Tarn Taran district are abuzz with hectic activity these days as the villagers and the local administration are working overtime to accord a grand welcome to Pakistani Punjab CM Shahbaz Sharif and his family at his ancestral village on Sunday.

Four makeshift helipads are coming up in the village, while two new connecting roads have been constructed ahead of his visit. These include a 1.8-km road stretch between Jatti Umra and Kajiwal village and a 1.63-km stretch between Jatti Umra and Takhtu Chak village. Tiles are being laid on the road leading to the village gurdwara where the ancestral house of Sharif family once stood.

Villagers and administration officials seem to be working overtime to make sure that the village is at its impressive best on Sunday. The garbage lying along the roadsides is being cleared and the outer walls of the houses are being whitewashed. A “pandal” is also being erected to hold a function to greet Sharif.

The villagers, particularly the elderly, are eagerly awaiting Shahbaz Sharif’s visit to the village. Octogenarian Massa Singh went down memory lane and recalled how he used to play with Shahbaz’s father Mohammed Sharif.

Shahbaz’s uncles also used to live in the village from where they migrated to Lahore in 1932, he recalled. “I would play with Shahbaz’s uncles. One of their uncles, Barkat Ali, was a trader of oxen.

Shahbaz’s grandfather used to practise ‘Hiqmat’ (Ayurvedic and Unani medicine) in a nearby village,” he said.

Mahinder Kaur reminisced how the Sharif family had ensured that they safely reached India at the time of Partition. She said her husband Boor Singh used to work for the Sharif family in Lahore before 1947. Later, the Sharifs arranged a job for her son Hardeeep Singh at their factory in the UAE. Mahinder Kaur said she was happy that she would get to meet the Sharif family once again in her life.

Shahbaz Sharif’s visit is set to usher in good days for the village as he will lay the foundation stone of various development works, including sewerage and waterworks projects. A sum of around Rs 3 crore has already been released for these projects.

Villager Balwinder Singh said they would also put forth the demand for a hospital and upgrading the high school at nearby Malah village.