Families in Cairo, Egypt have had to exhume the mortal remains of their deceased relatives because the government is demolishing parts of historic cemeteries for a new infrastructure project.

Authorities say the project will create roads and bridges to ease traffic in the overcrowded city, which has around 22 million people.

The work is taking place in a UNESCO World Heritage site, Cairo’s centuries-old “City of the Dead.”

Ahmed el-Meligui, a 43-year-old architect was one of the victims who had to dig up the remains of 23 family members from his family’s tomb. Generations of his relatives were buried together in a single tomb.

“We had already buried them once, but now it’s as if we are awakening the memories. It was very painful,” he told the AFP.

The government has offered new burial plots outside the capital Cairo, but many of these are further away and much smaller. Many families have been devastated and frustrated about the move.