Every morning, as the sun peeks over the misty hills of Tuensang, a familiar sight rolls down the broken road from 3rd NAP Saksi—a weathered taxi with a driver just as seasoned. At the wheel is Kaimang Chang, 61 years old, a father of five, and arguably one of Tuensang’s oldest working taxi drivers.
But this is not just a story about a man driving a taxi. It’s a story of resilience, dignity, and quiet determination.
He continues to ply the roads between his home and Tuensang town, transporting passengers daily despite age, physical challenges, and poor road conditions. He is among the most senior taxi drivers in the district and a respected figure among the local transport community.
In a candid conversation with Nagaland Tribune, Chang recalled how his journey as a taxi driver began back in 2008, even before he retired from his post as a constable in the 3rd NAP Battalion. “I started driving while still in uniform,” he said with a nostalgic smile, adding that after retirement, the taxi became his full-time profession, which helped him earn a living. He also noted that the Tuensang Taxi Union was officially formed two years later, in 2010.
Now in his sixties, Kaimang Chang speaks with quiet pride about his years behind the wheel. “My taxi has been hired to Dimapur, Kohima, Mon district—twice even—and to many neighbouring villages,” he recalled. “I’ve even gone on mission trips for God,” he added.
He elaborated on the road conditions between 3rd NAP Saksi and Tuensang town, saying they are often very challenging. “Due to the dilapidated condition of the roads, with numerous potholes filled with water and mud, our district has one of the poorest road conditions. It’s so frustrating—every week we taxi owners have to replace pushing rods and arms,” he said.
Download Nagaland Tribune app on Google Play
Chang said, “As a taxi driver, we face problems with passengers while travelling. Some common people, especially young men, will ask to hire the taxi and say they will pay for the town trip, but when they reach their destination, they make excuses like they ran out of cash. That’s the main problem we face as taxi drivers.”
“I will continue to drive my taxi till my last breath,” he added with quiet determination, “as it’s my interest and to earn for my family’s basic needs.”
He encouraged all unemployed youths to work and earn, whether through big or small jobs, as experience is needed and important in every sector. “Today, in this generation, one of the reasons for higher unemployment among the educated is because many are not willing to join low-grade or informal jobs,” he said, adding, “At the same time, there aren’t enough regular salaried jobs available, as the number of educated youth keeps increasing.”
As to effectively address unemployment in Nagaland, he added that a combination of strategies is needed—focused on skills development training, job creation, fostering entrepreneurship and small business growth—along with implementing policies that stimulate overall economic demand and create a favourable environment for job creation for all unemployed youths.
Tags: Taxi driver, Tuensang, Kaimang Chang
Kaimang Chang, 61 years old and a father of 5 children from Tuensang village residing at 3rd NAP Saksi under Tuensang district. He is one of the most senior most taxi drivers in Tuensang travelling on a daily basis carrying the passenger from 3rd NAP to Tuensang town.
While having a conversation, Kaimang Chang shared with Nagaland Tribune that he started driving his taxi from 2008 till date that is 18 years as a taxi driver when he was in 3 Nap batalian as Constable before he got retired from job started to earn from taxi.Chang mentioned that the taxi union was started in 2010.
As an old man he shared his experience journey as a taxi driver “My taxi was hired two times to Dimapur, Kohima, Mon district and in many neighbouring villages also went for mission work for God”
Elaborated on road conditions between 3rd nap saksi and Tuensang town likely to be challenging “due to dilapidated conditions of the roads with numerous potholes filled with water and mudy our district is one of the poor road conditions and so frustrated every week we the taxi owners have to replace pushing and arms”
Chang said “as a taxi driver faces problems with passengers while travelling some common people especially young men will ask for hired and told to pay for a town trip but when they reach their destination, make excuses like run out of cash that’s the main reason we face as a taxi driver”
”i will continue to drive my taxi till my last breath as its my interest and to earn for my family basic needs”
He encouraged all the unemployed youths to work and earn wherever big or small jobs as experience is needed and important in every sector as today in this generation one of the reason for higher unemployment among the educated is that educated youth are not willing to join in low grade informal job but at the same time sufficient regular salaries job are also not available for many youths as educated youth have increased.
As to effectively address unemployment in Nagaland a combination of strategies focused on skills development training, job creation, fostering entrepreneurship and small business growth and by implementing policies that stimulates overall economic demand and create a favourable environment for job creation to all unemployed youths, he added.
