BALEWA: The Hanuman Naach, that carries historical significance, has been presented here after a gap of a decade. The Hanuman Naach Preservation Council orgnanized a programme here on Tuesday to present the three-century-old folk culture. The traditional culture of the Newari community will be preserved through the Council, said its Chair Tirtha Prasad Shrestha. “The dance was near extinction due to lack of preservation efforts and generation gap”, he said. Youth between 16 to 40 years of age took part in the dance here yesterday. The dance was presented at various thoroughfares of the district. Based on the Hindu epic, Ramayana, this dance is exhibited in every odd year with 26 youth, especially Newars, taking part in it, according to researcher Prem Chota. The dance is named after Hanuman, the greatest disciple of Lord Ram in Hindu mythology.