Over the next three days, May 15, 16 and 17, blood samples of family members of 26 missing people were collected to be matched with human remains. But the family of victim number 27, Geeta Devi, could only be traced after over 10 days because she lived alone in a rented accommodation largely cut off from her family. She was finally cremated over a month later.

Since then, 10 families have filed a case in labour court for compensation, which they are still fighting.

The night of May 13, however, will be etched in the memories of those impacted by it. Children were ripped of their childhood in the incident, mothers, of the dreams of seeing their daughters getting married, and fathers, of their old-age support. Here are some of their stories.

Musarrat, 33

Sitting in front of the stove at her modest home in Bhagya Vihar, 12-year-old Afsha is cooking pulses for her two younger siblings, father, and grandmother. She talks like she is a grown-up. But this is not the childhood she had dreamed of. It was forced upon her after she lost her mother in the deadly blaze.

Musarrat, 33, left behind three children — Afsha, Zeenat, 6, and Fardeen, 3. Her husband, Mohammed Akbar, earlier a wall painter, changed his line of work and is now a cab driver because it allows him flexible timings. “After her mother’s death, Afsha learnt to cook from her grandmother and now she cooks for all of us early in the morning. Sometimes, I cook too. We both manage the house now because my mother has aged,” said Akbar. “She became responsible on her own. Afsha had no other option.”

The children, Akbar said, are aware that their mother is gone forever, and will not return. Even if he tries to lie to the youngest son, the boy is aware that “Mummy jal gayi thi... ab kabhi nahi aaegi (Mother had burnt to death... she will not return)”.

While his family keeps telling him to remarry, Akbar doesn’t want to. “Who knows if another woman will treat my children right or not. I cannot risk their future.”

Soni Kumari, 45

While Afsha lost her childhood, Himanshu, 10, and Shambhavi, 12, lost their home.

Their mother, Soni Kumari, worked in the same factory as Musarrat to support her family financially while their father Manoj Thakur worked as a supplier of chocolates. Thakur is now a broken man after uprooting his children from their home. “I had no other option. I could not have raised them alone in a city like Delhi. So, I have sent them to our village in Bihar where my family lives so they can be raised around them,” said Manoj, who continues to live in the Capital.

Himanshu and Shambhavi were studying in a government school here where they had friends. They also used to go to tuition. “I miss Kartik (a boy in his class). He was my best friend,” Himanshu said.

The quality of education they get has also been compromised after moving cities. “There’s obviously a difference in schools in cities and in villages,” Thakur said.

Tania Chauhan, 27

While it’s been a struggle for family members to move on from the tragedy, it seems impossible for Rajni Chauhan, 50, who lost her 27-year-old daughter Tania. A day hasn’t gone by when she hasn’t shed tears in front of Tania’s photo. She refuses to put a garland on the picture hanging on the drawing room wall. “It’s been a year but it feels like it was yesterday. Everything is over for me. I don’t know how I am living,” she said.

Tania was her mother’s best friend and confidante. In her absence, Rajni, when she is not doing household chores, spends a large part of the day in front of Tania’s photograph. “Every meal I eat, I first place it in front of her photograph and give it to the needy the next day. She used to love ice-cream. I specially get it for her and offer it,” she said.

She remembers Tania as a woman who would insist on getting ready in fresh clothes every day — work or day off — and would even apply make-up on her mother’s face. “I haven’t gotten ready in a year now. I haven’t left the house or met any relatives,” Rajni said. “It’s as if my life is over.”

Pooja Kumari, 21

Life took a turn for the worst for Moni Kumari when she lost her 21-year-old sister Pooja — the sole breadwinner of the family. Moni, then 19, was preparing for her law entrance exam when the incident took place. Moni, Pooja and their youngest sister Tanu,15, stayed with their mother in a one-room home in Bhagya Vihar. After losing their father in 2012, Pooja started working as a maid with her mother about three years ago, and then got a “respectable” job at the CCTV manufacturing factory. Their mother, whose health was deteriorating, quit the job, leaving the running of the house to Pooja.

Pooja’s death changed everything. Moni was forced to stop pursuing law and become a maid to make ends meet. “I am now working so my younger sister can study. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to take up law now,” she said.

Like other families, Moni’s mother received compensation for ₹12 lakh from the state and central governments, and Moni said that they’ll use the money to buy a small house which they can further rent out to be able to earn a stable income. “As of now, we don’t know what to do, and whose help to seek to manage our lives. It’s been a year and I am still clueless.”