New Delhi, Aug 28 (IANS): Describing them as the backbone of the agitation, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal Sunday had a special word of praise for the over 300 volunteers who worked round the clock for 13 days to the keep the movement against corruption going.

Minutes before Hazare broke his fast Sunday morning, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal said: "The backbone of the protest is our volunteers who were insulted, scolded, treated in a bad way but still they worked efficiently for hours."

"On days when I used to sleep here and sometimes get up at 3 a.m., I used to see several volunteers hushing up at the stairs near the dais. When I used to ask them to sleep, they would say - 'No, we want to protect our Anna', that was their spirit," he said.

From food, ambulance, security, crowd management, maintaining links with the media, and transcribing speeches -- the volunteers from India Against Corruption (IAC) were the lifeline behind the 74-year-old's fast that gripped the world's attention.

Around 80 volunteers were in action at the ground all day and night to provide security to Hazare, said activist Atul Kumar.

These volunteers, both men and women, worked in shifts to ensure that some volunteers were always at Ramlila ground. "We worked in shifts - morning, evening and night," said Praveen Deshmukh, another volunteer.