Watching the match at an electronics market with a dozen or so other men, this is the first time Aziz has seen TV -- and the first time he's had something to cheer -- since a massive October 8 earthquake razed to the ground this capital of northern Pakistan's mountainous Kashmir region.

"I am mad about cricket but I dont have any TV set to watch the match," says a beaming Aziz, 25. "Thanks to them (the electronics shops' owners), they have provided me with this opportunity."

Two weeks ago, such a scene would have been unimaginable.

Muzaffarabad was at the epicentre of a disaster that claimed more than 74,000 lives and left more than 3.5 million people homeless in an area the size of Belgium.

The city suffered badly: 28,000 of its 120,000 residents were killed and almost every house and significant structure was destroyed, forcing some 40,000 people to live in tents in makeshift camps around the town.

Its winding streets that once bustled along the contours of a beautiful valley below towering snow-dusted peaks are now mostly broken and filled only with the vehicles of aid agencies and the military that have based their huge relief effort in the city.

In the past week or so, however, the green shoots of normality have begun to tentatively sprout around the city.

Grocery shops, medical stores and barbers' kiosks have opened along the main roads and last week army engineers cleared debris from the once sprawling downtown market, making it accessible to small vehicles.

The shop structures may be only partially standing and empty -- cleared to prevent looting and never fully restocked because most of the affluent residents who could afford the goods have moved out of town -- but the market has provided a morale boost to survivors.

It has brought something the city hasn't seen in six weeks -- hustle and bustle.

"Yes we have come back because we have to do our share for the rehabilitation of our town," says Dilshad Khan Durrani, one of the leading electronics dealers of Muzaffarabad.

Importantly, the reopened market is not only a sign that life is slowly returning to this beautiful, but shattered land. It has also provided the beleaguered city with a vital window onto the outside world.

"This is the only way I can keep abreast of what's happening with the relief and reconstruction news," says motor mechanic Irshad Kianis, as he hands 7,000 rupees (118 US dollars) he can ill afford to a shopkeeper for a TV.

"It has become a necessity, there's no other way we can find out what's happening around us. And because there's nothing else to do, it also stops us getting bored."

Cracks in the walls of Durranis shop are visible. Many faulty TV sets can still be seen inside.

"The loss was colossal. But we have to overcome it because we have to live in this city," adds Khan, owner of Khan Electronics.

Nearby, Electro Inn owner Rizwan Khan says he opened his shop "more (to provide) a service than for the sale".

"Winter is looming. People need electric heaters and geezers (heated water tanks). So we had to open our shop to provide them with these essential items," the 25-year old tells AFP.

He says that most of his customers are among the small handful of people whose houses survived the tremor.

Nadeem Ahmed Mir has also opened his mobile phone centre. Cell phone business has boomed in Muzaffarabad since the quake.

Mobile operators had been barred from the region by a government fearful they may aid communication between separatists fighting for an independent state in Kashmir.

But following criticism that the cell-phone black hole had hampered early relief efforts after the quake, the Islamabad authorities lifted the ban.

"Customers are showing up and I feel good for being able to provide them the services they need," says Ahmed.

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