Signalling the return of the good old times in the Kashmir Valley, the clock tower in Srinagar's [Images] busy Lal Chowk started functioning on Monday after a gap of nearly 16 years.

Opposition National Conference president and member of Parliament Omar Abdullah inaugurated the clock tower in the presence of city mayor Ghulam [Images] Mustafa Bhat and some corporators.

Of late, there has been a ceasefire between Indian and Pakistani troops with peace slowly returning to the Valley.

Early in April this year, the road connecting the Valley to the Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, shut for 57 years because of the tensions between Delhi and Islamabad, was reopened.

On June 2, a five-member All Parties Hurriyat Conference delegation led by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq is expected to leave for a two-week tour of Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir and Pakistan.

Also see: The Road to Peace

The clock had stopped working with the advent of militancy in the Kashmir Valley as it bore the brunt of stone-pelting by demonstrators over the years.

A new clock has now replaced the old one in a way symbolising the change of mood in the Valley.

Also see:
Hurriyat leaders leave for PoK on June 2