♦ The Shekha Jheel Bird Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh district has been declared as India’s 99th Ramsar Wetland Site, announced Bhupendra Yadav, Union Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, on 22 April 2026. With this addition, Uttar Pradesh now has 12 Ramsar sites, further strengthening its position as one of the leading states in wetland conservation. 

♦ A freshwater lake situated 17 kms from Aligarh, the Shekha Jheel has recorded the presence of 249 bird species in its vicinity, out of which 62 are specifically dependent on the wetland. 

♦ In 1852, the British built the Upper Ganga Canal, which flows from Hapur to Narora in Uttar Pradesh, and it was through this that the Shekha Jheel formed. Around 25 hectares in size, the lake is an important habitat not only for water birds, but also for certain other fauna like blue bulls, blackbuck, five-striped squirrels, and Indian mongoose.