Greenwood Hospital, the first private hospital in the State, discontinued serving diet to its patients due to the problem since the past two months, hospital officials said.

Around ten restaurants have closed as the owners failed to procure cooking gas to run the restaurants, the sources said.

The shortage has led to the use of kerosene stoves and electric stoves by many.

Scarcity of power supply and kerosene supply have forced many people to switch over to improvised charcoal stove.

Charcoal stoves from neighbouring Manipur sold like hot cakes last week.

Villagers were using firewood collected from nearby jungles thereby harming the environment, the sources added.

Meanwhile, the State Government and the Indian Oil Company (IOC) officials said that the cooking gas crisis would ease from mid-June. – PTI