LUCKNOW, April 17 -- For 1,000 residents of the Vikas Nagar slum cluster, Thursday morning brought a harrowing confrontation with reality. Following a devastating fire on Wednesday evening that destroyed nearly 280 shanties, families returned not to homes, but to a "barricaded graveyard" of their life's savings. By dawn, long queues of men and women formed along the roadside, waiting for police clearance to enter the charred remains of their 'colony'. The atmosphere was heavy with grief as residents, many with visible tears, sifted through the cooling embers for any remnant of their former lives. They refused to go to raen baseras (shelter homes), which the administration had arranged, and instead, took refuge under almirahs, iron trunks, fridges, tarpaulins and other things to save themselves from the sun and the heat generated by the fire. The fire has not only destroyed property but has derailed futures. Several families reported that upcoming weddings have been cancelled. Bikes, coolers, alimrahs, cattle, cash, jewellery, clothes, everything was destroyed but these people were still seen trawling through the ashes. As per locals, multiple weddings were scheduled, but now that can't be done as everything is gone. While kids were seen searching for their toys, women looked to salvage their burnt jewellery and currency. Exhausted after sifting through the debris in search of her belongings, a woman eventually fell asleep. People are still scouring through the ashes, searching for their families' valuables. "My daughter Neelu's wedding was scheduled on May 5, and we had kept cash, jewellery and clothes for the occasion. Now everything is gone. We're cancelling the wedding now," lamented Rajesh Kumar, a labourer who has a family of six. Holding burnt currency notes worth Rs 1.5 lakh, a woman, Nazma said: "Look, my husband's earnings have gone up in flames. We had decided to build a house for kids..." Munni Devi, another victim of the fire, said: "I sustain my household by cooking meals in other people's homes. The jewellery and Rs 50,000 kept inside the house were destroyed in the fire. Three of us live in the house -myself, a son and a daughter." As soon as Sandeep, another fire victim, was asked about the extent of his losses, he broke down in tears. Composing himself, he said: "My children's notebooks and textbooks have all been burnt." Meanwhile, a child named Raj alleged: "This fire was caused deliberately to force us out of these huts." Another victim Nasir Ali recounted, "The police did arrive, but they did not record the names of everyone present.'' "Five of my goats and 10 chickens perished in the fire. My wardrobe, storage trunk, and refrigerator -everything has been reduced to ashes," lamented Pussu, another victim....