In the meantime, with the hope for money fading every day, Ibrahim's wife Bibi Hajera went back to their hometown in Feni. She is now making ­shital pati (bamboo mats) to run her family with two daughters aged three and seven.

There is another victim with a similar name, Mohammed Ibrahim, a rickshaw puller from Kamrangirchar, whose name is not even on the ministry's list.

The Daily Star spoke to his sister-in-law Shireen, with whom Ibrahim's wife Rokhsana and her 10-year-old daughter currently live. "My husband is a rickshaw puller as well, and the only earning member in our family. After her husband's death, Rokhsana has been too devastated to work.

"Our entire family of seven people is now dependent on the Tk 200-400 my husband brings home every day," said Shireen.

Ruma Begum's husband Mohammad Billal, another fire victim who died, left behind an empty pantry. "We had no rice at home, no vegetables, literally nothing. I was waiting for him to come home with groceries so that we could eat," said Ruma.

Billal used to stitch curtains for a decorator shop. Ruma is supposed to get Tk 1 lakh from the ministry, but has not received a single penny.

Contacted, Dr Md Rezaul Haque, director general of Bangladesh Workers' Welfare Foundation, said the process of verifying the victims' identity was a lengthy one.